Just So Stories

Scholastic Australia

April 2025

ISBN 9781761520860
RRP $26.99

This one finishes off this week of Birdie Num Nums purely because of its title, because really it’s not all about birds. It’s about love and our own self-belief, the (sometimes lofty and impossible) standards we set for ourselves and how we navigate the world around us.

Stephen Michael King has not only given us a beautifully layered book to explore with our Smalls and Not-So-Smalls but a cracking lead-in to exploring and expanding vocabulary. What I have always described as abandoning pebble words and replacing them with boulder words. Even my Year 10 boys appreciated that analogy.

With a text that is lyrically poetic and his own iconic illustrative style, this is a crowd pleaser across age groups and will lead to many profitable conversations around our own self-expectations. The character goes searching for a ‘word’ -with many wonderful synonyms offered – and encounters an assortment of animals who each teach more words. Simple? Yes, but devastingly deep and complex at the same time. And the use of white space is so impactful. For me, it underlines that this is a personal journey. Just oneself alone, navigating the journey to self-awareness.

The teaching notes will help you put together some activities including art and vocab [admittedly some are a bit banal], but primarily, slot this into your Personal & Social Capabilities framework for whatever age group. I would easily use it across primary to secondary. Without hesitation it’s a 5 🐦🐦🐦🐦🐦 rating.