Just So Stories

Riveted Press

October 2025

Simon & Schuster

ISBN13: 9781764007146

LIST PRICE: AU$ 18.99 / NZ$ 19.99

Here’s another gift suggestion for an astute reader from about 10 years upwards. You could get a small sense of this book from the blurb, which has probably been rehashed by at least one reviewer, but it truly needs to be read properly and with intention to gain an authentic understanding of the scope and magic of it.

This is an adventure fantasy that will transport the reader into an entirely new setting filled with an accompanying tension at times, as one considers exactly how it would feel to be miniscule in the world as we know it.

An artist first, Sarah Giddy created this, her debut novel, as her final major work for her Bachelor of Visual Art and Design. It is little wonder that she won the Dean’s Award for this exceptional ‘assignment’ and that it led to her first published novel. And realistically, it is charming to see a fully illustrated novel of such calibre.

Step inside the world of the Groundlands, with Bat Brikson, adopted son of Adeline and Joab of the Cattenveldt tribe. Bat is very different to other Cattenveldts. He looks different for a start, and his looks, interests and impulses are different, like always climbing to be up high, and wishing he could fly. It’s almost as if he should be a Drakkonbarq – the fearsome warriors who ride dragon(flies) and live in trees. The third tribe, the Bittenklore are not enemies but are, essentially, the ruling class who flaunt wealth and superiority at every turn.

Bat is well used to being the odd one out but once he’s started at the Y’Liondand senior school, it all starts to become just too much. He really doesn’t fit in. And he has questions that need answers. The more he learns, the more he needs to know. So, like his Uncle Levi, and his namesake, Batoldrian the explorer, he takes off to find the giant plants called trees, the dragons, the Drakkonbarqs and the truth. What he finds is a whole other family, lineage and truthful history as well as a very annoying and superior princess called Elfrida, and the joy of flying.

Along with finding out so much about his own mysteries which explain so much of his ‘different-ness’, Bat also discovers in himself strengths, empathy and courage he didn’t realise he possessed. There are so many threads to consider and discuss in this one: nature V nurture, what is family?, distortion and erasure of history [now there’s a topical one], unfounded bias, deceptions,allegiances, courage and compassion, being some of these.

If you are looking for a new class novel for your upper primary or even Year 7s with juicy, topical and relevant parallels to contemporary life and still with those tried-and-true themes such as the quest for truth/freedom, and some really interesting motifs to accompany e.g. flying (and upon what creature), this could well be the answer to your search [now wouldn’t that be nice to hear?]. And writing a literature-based UoI developed from this would be right up my alley. I can see so much potential for this one in a novel study setting [and yes, I have long campaigned that the set book is not an ideal but to be realistic, we know this is how our curriculum works whether we like it or not. What irks me more is the fact that (often due to budget considerations), the same decades-old novels are being used over and over ad nauseum.]

Why not take a leaf from Bat’s playbook and be adventurous? And if that’s not doable, it’s a must-have for your collection or home bookshelf – and would make a very welcome stocking stuffer to an avid reader in your circle. It’s a 5 𓆦ཐི༏ཋྀ𓆦ཐི༏ཋྀ𓆦 rating from me and I hope to see more from this talented creator.