Just So Stories

• Publisher: Riveted Press (July 31, 2024)
• ISBN13: 9780645869309
• Distributed by Simon & Schuster
• AU$ 29.99 / NZ$ 32.99

For a word nerd such as I, or your participANTs, whether in the classroom or library – including any miscreANTs that some of you will have in your group of readers, this is just fANTastic! Who would ever have ANTicipated a book that would reveal the entire life journey of an ant and its colony from birth to the ANTiclimax of almost disaster in just 16 words? And make it so resonANT!

Each spread with just a single word (ending with -ANT) is accompanied by some of the most vibrANT illustrations I’ve seen this year and will absolutely enchANT all your Smalls and, indeed, Not-so-Smalls and make the most advANTageous addition to any unit of work on mini-beasts, nature or lifecycles.

This is particularly so because the back matter is perfectly accordANT with any such unit, and will go a long way to making learning both pleasANT and relevANT. I can guarANTee that your readers will be positively jubilANT when you tANTalize them with this, and even the most reluctANT or insouciANT learner will be eating up the wordplay and becoming exuberANT semANTicists in no time.

This is such an elegANT debutANT book for creator Rosi Ngwenya (I am most excited to know she is a local Sunshine Coast author) that I will be eager to see more. Also, Sandy Flett makes a flamboyANT departure from her known line drawings with these clever illustrations that will instANTly resonate with your kiddos.

I’ll warrANT that you will be sorry if you miss out on this one, because I foresee that it will be a regnANT contender in awards lists this coming year. You may think I’m being quite flippANT about this one, but in fact I am adamANT that it’s a must-have for your collection – whether as a teaching tool in language or science, or just for pure fun, so don’t be hesitANT!

I have quite a penchANT for it as you can tell and it’s getting a 5 🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜 rating from me.