Just So Stories

Affirm Press

February 2025

AUD RRP $24.99

ISBN 9781922992444

What a delightful and happy-making book this is!

Until I was 14, my family home was our house in the front corner of 3 regular-sized Sydney suburban blocks, with the rest of the land being taken up with the family business of A. Warren & Sons – General Carriers.

My paternal grandparents lived next door but one while paternal great-grandmother lived behind us. Her place was on one of two blocks, with the second being her orchard. A little pathway alongside the open-fronted sheds behind our tiny backyard, led to a gate in that back fence, and there was rarely a day I wasn’t going through it after school, to spend time with Gran – collecting eggs, picking apricots or mulberries or whatever was in season, helping her cook or listening to stories.

This joy of a book describing families coming together minus fences to separate them, reminds me of that experience a little.

Azumi, Theo, Bree and Jack live side-by-side and back-to-back. These kids are always spending time together – feeding chooks in one yard, skating in another, swimming in one yard and gardening in the next. But boy, it can be a pain having to go the long way around the whole block just to get to the friends on the other side. If only their adjoining corners and fences weren’t there, it would be so much easier – and far more fun!

The intrepid and innovative foursome come up with a plan and hope to convince the adults. This backfires somewhat when the adults, after closely examining said fences, realise that they are in need of serious repairs. The children are delighted when the adults set to to work demolishing the paling barriers, but dismayed when they realise the grown-ups mean to replace them.

Except well……….you know how things happen. Adults get busy, plans get put off….and then, everyone is so content sharing their one big space plus pool, chickens, veggies, muffins and more, that the fences just never go back. If only countries would realise that sharing spaces instead of zealously protecting boundaries, can be so enriching. This is a super exploration of friendship, sharing, dreaming big and the joy of community at its best. Kirsten lives this dream in her piece of paradise in northern NSW.

Each year, on the last Sunday in March, the Neighbours Every Day campaign invites everyone to celebrate and connect with their neighbours. The theme for 2025 is ‘Create • Share • Grow • Belonging’. As part of the campaign, they are running a competition called Tell Us Your Story where people can submit a story about their unique journey of connection and community – their own way. Enter the competition to win a copy of The Big Backyard Plan – a joyful story about community connection that celebrates big dreams, best friends and removing the things that divide us and aligns perfectly with the message of their campaign.

If you loved Kirsten’s first book, Like a Gannet, you’re going to adore this one as well. As Mr Ollivander might say, ‘I think we can expect great things..’. My one slightly 😔 thought was that the rhyming text stumbled slightly on a couple of occasions, which reading aloud made apparent. Rhyming can be so tricky – and sometimes, the cadence just doesn’t work so well, but one can overlook that when considering the entirety.

The whole is wonderfully enhanced by Laura Stitzel’s joyous illos, making this one happy package. I suggest your Smalls from Prep right up to Year 3 or 4 would enjoy it immensely. And how fun would it be to follow up with designing ‘big’ backyards, either on paper or in Minecraft (or similar!).And, of course, the perfect opportunity for some persuasive writing. How would your kiddos convince their parents to do the same? I’m giving this a 🐔🏊‍♀️🛹🌽 rating and most definitely, this is a great addition to your collection.