Just So Stories

Harper Collins

November 2024

• ISBN: 9780733343209
• ISBN 10: 0733343201
• RRP: $16.99

What an absolute honour it was for me to be asked to write the teaching notes for this book – the first in a series – from sporting legend, disability advocate, radio host, actor, founder of his self-named foundation, film-maker, motivational speaker, Australian of the Year and, dead-set larrikin, Dylan Alcott.

As one who has been privileged to raise The Kid, a grandchild with a disability, in the absence of her mother and having to fight so often, on her behalf, this man engenders so much true regard and respect from me. And I know I’m not the only one.

Now, middle-grade kids can revel in this amusing but insightful series based on incidents in Dylan’s life, the good and not-so-good. This #1 kicks off as Dylan starts high school. We know that’s a journey in itself as kids move from the familiarity of primary school to the unknown of secondary. For many kids with disability, there is real trauma associated with this progression as they often face not only ignorance but often wilful bullying.

My life so far has been pretty awesome.
At home I’ve got a great family (sure, even my big brother, Jacob, when he’s not being a total pain) and my pet legless lizard, Pogo (she can lick her own eyeballs, really). Then there are my friends Yusuf and Gemma, and my best mate, Hannah. In between there’s coding, shooting hoops and mixing tracks.
Now it’s time for something new — high school.

As happens with so many kids, the friendship stakes change when the move to secondary happens, and Dylan is no exception. His navigation of the move is additionally hampered by the lack of physical accessibility for him, a teacher who clearly has never had any sensitivity training [much like K’s TAFE teacher of last year, now in ‘re-training or out’, thanks to my formal complaint] and a bunch of bullies, predictable but prime for out-manouvering by Dylan.

Something I really love about this book is that Dylan is like anyone else, especially any other kid. Yes, he is, quite rightly, cheesed off by the lack of accommodation of his needs, and, yes, he gets quite possessive and jealous of the friendship shift but he’s no goody-goody who sucks it up passively. He gets just as cranky and hot-headed as anyone, but is willing to admit it and feel suitably ashamed.

This would make a brilliant serial read-aloud for your upper primary kids, offering them some insight and potential discussion topics in that preparation for high school mode but also give them lots of laughs, some self-reflection and an opportunity to ‘walk in another kid’s shoes’ for a while.

I think that many of your readers, from around 9 years up, would happily pick it up and read for themselves as well. I truly hope you find the notes of some use, I put a lot of personal passion into them, coming from our own experience of navigating the disability road.

There are so many titles you could pair or combine with this in a special classroom selection as well including older favourites such as Wonder, Kate Foster or Elle McNichol books, as well as newer titles like Thunderhead. I, for one, am looking forward to the rest of the series which I feel will make a significant impact on many kids’ way of looking at others. I’m giving it a 5 ♿♿♿♿♿ rating.