Just So Stories

Harper Collins

May 2024

• ISBN: 9781460757550
• ISBN 10: 1460757556
• Imprint: HarperCollins AU
• RRP: $26.99

We always know, when we hear there is a new Freya Blackwood on the horizon that it will be both beautiful and insightful. Freya’s incalculable talent for creating atmospheric narratives and illustrations has become a standard of excellence. Her numerous awards, including the coveted Kate Greenaway Medal in 2010 (for Harry and Hopper) speak to this prodigious skill.

When I was asked if I was interested in creating a teaching guide to accompany the book, back in January, I couldn’t accept quickly enough! And what a breathtaking book it is.

9 Ardent St is a sad and lonely house, with an overgrown tangle of a yard. The children are wary of it but Sadie, led by a friendly cat, ventures to explore the wild jungle beyond the fence. There she discovers an old woman sitting motionless and covered with cobwebs on a garden bench, which seems quite mysterious.

But through the gorgeous vignettes in the front matter, readers can already piece together some of the history of both the house and the statue-like woman. They will discover more clues throughout the book with the remarkable illustrations which are simultaneously revealing and enigmatic. The readers’ various interpretations will be an interesting exercise in many classrooms and libraries, I believe.

The transformation from the sad and lonely to the wild and joyful is a direct result of the children’s interest in, and enjoyment of, all the forgotten garden can offer. It is a subtle examination of the sometimes ignoring of the elderly and old (or broken) things, and a sound message that simply because something or someone has grown old, it does not mean that these things have become superfluous or disposable.

Freya’s ability to express so much emotion through her art is always a joy. I know it was for me when I first saw this book in it’s proof format, and now to see it in its final incarnation I am moved all over again by the sheer beauty of it.

This is a book that will be equally at home with your youngest readers, or for your older ones. Certainly, it would be an ideal choice for a sophisticated picture books UoI or for closely examining ‘how picture books work’. It obviously gets a huge recommendation from me, but really Freya’s work speaks for itself every time. 5 stars all the way for this one.