Just So Stories

• Publisher: Affirm Kids (May 27, 2025)
• Distributed by Simon & Schuster
• ISBN13: 9781923022171
• RRP: AU$ 22.99 / NZ$ 27.99

For those of us who have been in library mode as long as I have, this will bring back happy memories of hilarious sessions reading A Nice Walk in the Jungle but in this new Amelia Tonta [the artist formerly known as Amelia McInerney] book, the python in question is a pet of no scruples whatsoever!

Frankie is so lucky to get exactly what she wants for her birthday – a tiny puppy! But when the puppy does what puppies often do and piddles in her lap, the chaos begins with the whole flip-flop between lucky and unlucky, involving too-long pants, an unfortunate goldfish, flaming birthday candles, a tasty aunt, firefighters and police, a surprised stray cat and a very naughty python who ought to know better!

Smalls will laugh uproariously as each calamity is revealed. The illustrations from Peter Baldwin are both expressive and as funny as the text, begging for some close inspection. This is exactly the kind of book (as was the Nan Bodsworth title) that can springboard into some fun creative writing scenarios, especially those involving consequences. And if you can ever get hold of it (there is a YouTube read-aloud from covid times), I can go back even further to a book I once came across called What Good Luck! What Bad Luck! which I used as a basis of writing activities with my Year 5s in my first year of teaching.

Why not put together a whole unit on the concept of luck with some inquiry into the traditions and beliefs around this, supplementing with this new and other similar books plus non-fiction? Amelia is SO good with her humorous books always, and with each new one, demonstrates this. I am always excited to see a new one being released. It’s a slithery 5 🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍 rating for this slice of fun!