Just So Stories

A sumptuously illustrated gift book with magical interactive surprises

Bloomsbury Australia

October 2025

ISBN: 9781526691262

Imprint: Bloomsbury Children’s Publishing

RRP: $69.99

Is it a Christmas book you might ask? NO, not exactly but remember the Yule Ball !! but of course it would make an insanely exciting Xmas gift for any Potterhead of your acquaintance.

This is the fourth in this series of gift editions and you can well imagine the squeal of excitement when I opened the package from my ‘dealer’ [hahaha! Sonia x]. I’m pretty sure that you will get an equal or even more effusive response to anyone opening this up on Xmas morning.

Just when I think HP books can’t get any better, along comes another show-stopper. The first since the original creatives behind this sumptuous series, with it’s fantastical paper engineering highlights, discontinued their involvment, this one with new illustrator Kurt James Mountford is a dragon-roaring success in my opinion.

And what a book to start with – so much richness to illustrate and capture! From the dragons themselves to Rita Skeeter – the Dark Mark re-appearing and the magical Weasley tent, it’s just one ooh-ahh after another.

Rest assured, that any reader to whom you gift this will need to pried away from it with an oyster opener for meals, chores, or anything Muggle activity. Of course, you may buy it for your library collection but that really depends on your clientele I feel. For equally precious books in some of my libraries these were ‘not for borrowing’ but for perusal in the library itself (under close but subtle supervision!) because the expense alone for such beauties is hard to sustain with most budgets.

And it’s a perfect day to write this review as I’m wearing my brand new Potion Commotion leggings for the first time! You already know it’s a magical 5 🪄🪄🪄🪄🪄rating for any Potterhead, regardless of age.