Just So Stories

Riveted Press

Simon & Schuster

July 2025

• ISBN13: 9781763526075
• RRP: AU$ 17.99 / NZ$ 19.99

Aside from, of course, Anne Frank’s diary I knew very little about life for the Dutch during the war. I did glean some from Tulips for Breakfast when I read and reviewed it. But this astonishing debut novel from DJ Taylor has certainly opened my eyes to even more.

This draws on real-life experiences from the author’s own family circle, bringing a depth of insight into everyday happenings and troubles in those traumatic times of the Nazi occupation. Set in the last year and a half of the war, this will take your readers deeply and emotionally into a setting that is almost unimaginable.

Anna is the oldest in her family. At 14 years old, she has even already helped with small tasks for the Resistance. But things are getting more dangerous. With great forethought, her father has created a hiding space behind a wall in their cellar. Which is just as well because when the Nazis start rounding up the village men to send them off to work camps in Germany, her Papa goes into the secret room and stays there for the rest of the war.

It’s a constant struggle for Anna, her little brothers and her mother, as well as her grandmothers. One of these lives with the family, the other is out of town on a farm. The deprivation and danger is vividly told, as well as, the constant humiliations and restrictions that stole childhoods and carefree teen years as well as, of course, lives.

Creating a narrative based on her in-laws’ memories along with a friend of theirs, DJ Taylor has provided us with a brilliant new read-around-your-topic title for older students. But it is equally suitable for your older primary students who are interested in this historical period. It will certainly give them plenty to think about and, as a serial read-aloud, would jumpstart plenty of class discussions and inquiries. I must also comment on yet another terrific cover from Riveted Press. It is both atmospheric and evocative – well done to Tamlyn Teow. I’m giving this a 5 🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷 rating for your discerning readers from around 11 upwards. See some lovely photos of the inspirations for the book from Netherlands and Consulate General’s post re the launch. I was sorry to have missed it, given it was in DJ’s hometown of Kilcoy, so close to us, but we were otherwise engaged on the day.