Just So Stories

Hardie Grant

October 2025

ISBN:9781761214073

Price:AU$24.99, NZ$27.99

Publisher:Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing

It’s already beach time and soon it will be the holidays and there will be more time to spend with friends at the beach for many children. Riding on the wave of success of Jetty Jumping and Sunday Skating, comes the newest collaboration beween these two talented creators, and it’s delight.

Bonnie and her friends are excitedly on the beach, and ready to build sandcastles. Bonnie knows her castles are the best, she has the grandest ideas and is determined to get the others in on her creation. But, annoyingly, they are all ignoring her as each of them is deeply invested in creating their own castle, although happily sharing ideas with each other.

So while her friends are busy, and Bonnie is fruitlessly calling out to them, she gets crosser and crosser. She starts to build her own fabulous castle -if only they would all stop and come look at hers and see how much better her ideas are! Until all those big feelings boil over as is often the case, and Bonnie smashes her castle and stomps off to sulk.

When she finds herself alone – away from friends, away from their castles – she also has time to think and reflect and reconsider her actions. Lucky for Bonnie she has friends who care, and when they come looking for her, she tells them how sorry she is.

Away they go, all cheerfully building side-by-side. It’s a nicely executed lesson in self-regulation, and as many schools are incorporating strategies for this into daily classroom activities, this will be a welcome addition to any collection. Of course, the text sings with fabulous literary language, vivid descriptors and verb groups and the illustrations are just splendid.

We don’t see many sandcastles on our beach, it’s mostly driftwood tee-pees but same principles apply – as they would in many very different situations when one wants to rule the roost over the rest of the gang. Your kiddos from Prep up to around Yeaer 3 will most benefit from this one and it gets a 5 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️rating from me.