Just So Stories

Publisher:Allen & Unwin

October 2024

ISBN:9781761471131

Imprint:Allen & Unwin

RRP: $34.99

This is exactly the sort of yarning book that my Father Bear and I loved to read and share with each other, so in one sense it was quite a nostalgic trip for me. It was however, fascinating to be able to explore hitherto unknown tales from the way-back past as well as more recent times.

I particularly enjoyed histories from the days of early contact and the recognition of many of the First Nations tribes and individuals, but also moving forward those anecdotes from the mid-century in which I was growing up. There are stories of vagabonds and villains, poets and politicians, sports stars and shufflers (Cliffy Young in his gumboots) and many more, some a mere couple of pages long and others of more substantial length.

In other words, the kind of book that is perfect for dipping into during odd moments when one can always find a story to just fit the time. One very resonant piece was the few pages on The School Magazine, its history and place in contemporary times.

However, the piece entitled Playing with Covid completely baffled me. I’m not sure where the author acquired his information on kids’ playground chants , improvisations/innovations on popular songs and verses, but in 30 years of teaching (and still visiting schools and classrooms) the only one I’ve ever heard is the “Jingle Bells, Batman Smells…”. Many of the others have vocabulary that the kids I’ve known, in both state and private schools, would not even recognise let alone use. Far more likely with some of those offered up that they were manipulated with new wording by adults.

That aside, it is a very enjoyable read and one which proved a good take-to-the-beach book. It didn’t require much sustained focus on a plot and I was able to leisurely peruse both the surfing and the whales at play. Overall, I’d happily give it a 4 🦘🦘🦘🦘 rating. Here is a sample of story titles: Devil of a Place
A Ghost of Gold
The Obliging Dead
The Haunted Asylum
A Million Spooky Acres
Dangerous Journeys
3 Heroes and Heroines
The Great Rescue
The Boundary Rider’s Wife
Posties
Hell
Ambitions of the ‘Fair Sex’
Almost Sir Lancelot
Anonymous No Longer
War Widows
The Gumboot Tortoise