Just So Stories

Hachette Australia

Feb 26, 2025 | 9780734420756 | RRP $16.99

Let’s see. Take a little of Alice down the rabbit hole, and mix that with a smidgin of Oz. Then add in some snippets of lands reached using the Subtle Knife plus some of the strangeness of Nevermoor. After that, throw in some Upside Down and sprinkle it all with Wonka’s Pure Imagination and you’ll get an idea of the strange world Bella and Cienna encounter in the world of Muse.

For those of us who remember the 60s, psychedelic would be an apt descriptor – Salvador Dali would thoroughly approve of Muse and its inhabitants.

Cienna and Bella are sisters who are close though quite different. Cienna is confident with a group of friends, and Bella, is more timid and is constantly bullied by the mean girls, though refuses to ‘dob’.

One of their favourite places is the mysterious waterhole known as Washpool, about which their gran and mum, and their mob, have stories. It’s the perfect place for a picnic and swim but on this particular occasion, the two girls inadvertently slip through a portal into the strangest place they’ve ever seen.

It’s a land that looks like it’s been coloured in with crayons and by someone who didn’t actually know what colour grass, or trees, or sky is. The first creature they encounter is tricky and disarming but appears to be helpful in sending them to a place where they can find help to get back to their own time and place.

What follows is a bizarre and complex adventure/quest with both girls being taken up by two different factions, traditionally opposed to each other. but about to be bound together in a search for a missing dragon egg.

Their presence, as humans from the Waking World, stirs up the Muse inhabitants who range from weird transparent blobs to giant tortoises to fire-birds to merpeople and tiny little glow-worms, just to name a few.

Bella and Cienna prove their ingenuity, determination and willingness to help new friends and, in return, find a safe passage back to their own place. They take with them a new-found respect for others, including those who are different and, in particular, for Bella, a new confidence and self-belief.

I found it refreshing that this is a narrative by a First Nations author that does not attempt to mimic or reference original stories and beliefs. Rather, it takes the inherent values and strengths of kinship and culture and places them in a completely different setting, where they not only shine but impress and influence others, whose own views are limited.

While the teaching notes are written starting with Year 3, I have to say, that I would not be using it with those lower grades. I’m an astute and highly competent reader, with 66 years of practice behind me, and there were several moments when I had to re-read passages or pages, as the plot became more complicated.

For that reason, I think it’s going to require your more able readers (so that would be a rare Year 3er I think). I’d be suggesting that upper end 4s, and certainly 5s and 6s would be the prime target audience for this one.

I also would suggest that though you might include some language activities etc, that the primary and most powerful use of this novel would be tied to Personal and Social Capability outcomes, as we seek to empower kiddos with empathy, self-awareness, emotional learning, and social-emotional competence. I’m giving it a 4 🌊🌊🌊🌊 rating. Stay tuned for the Q&A coming up with author, Lisa Fuller!

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