Just So Stories

Scholastic Australia

July 2024

ISBN: 9781761126260

ISBN-10: 1761126261

RRP: $26.99

There would be few of us who don’t know the power of the collaboration between Coral Vass and Dub Leffler – who hasn’t used Sorry Day in their cultural awareness units? And here we are, with our Reconciliation Week theme of Now More Than Ever, and our NAIDOC theme of Keep the Fire Burning, hard on the heels of the shame of the referendum with this marvellous pair of creators bringing another powerful message to young readers.

‘We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future …’

Follow in the footsteps of these fellow Australians from all over our great country as they come together and traverse the entire nation. The poetic words are both rousing and emotive, and a rallying call-out to all our compatriots who believe that we need to bring together everyone, whether mob or not, to move into a shared and equal future.

And what can I say? Dub’s illustrations are absolutely sensational. The subtle, but also obvious, significance behind each is something that young readers will be able to absorb almost without realising it, and will definitely engender robust discussion.

[My daughter (who happens to be here, interstate this week 04/07, to do the Stronger Smarter facilitator’s course) is reading it now, as I write this, and says ‘This is all the shades of deadly.’]

And it is.

I ask you all to share this with your jarjums, no matter what colour they are, and more than that, I ask you to walk with all of us who want to make this a country of which to be proud in all respects. It resounds deeply and profoundly with us. Thank you, Coral and Dub for another magnificent and important step in our journey.

Highly recommended [❤️☀️🖤] [❤️☀️🖤][❤️☀️🖤][❤️☀️🖤][❤️☀️🖤]for your readers from 4 years upwards to adult.

Always was, always will be.