Just So Stories

Penguin Australia

April 2026

• ISBN: 9781761355110
• Imprint: Penguin
• RRP: $14.99

I will be the first to say that at first sight I thought – ummm, how is this going to work? But you know what? Somehow it does.

Taking lines from the poem as a cue on each page the text is combined with a background colour and a number, so:

There was movement at the statation, that the colt from old Regret had got away. 1 ONE grey horse [on a grey page] with a lively illustration facing.

And while Smallests may not understand every word, they will appreciate the rhythm of the Banjo’s words – who doesn’t? I’ve been an aficionado my entire life. My love for the bush ballads of both A.B. and Henry Lawwson stemmed from my father’s passion for both.

Banjo’s poems were a staple of my party pieces as a child.while I didn’t have a bright, colourful board book to introduce me to them, and my father, avid reader that he was, would not have given a thought to reading to a baby or toddler, he certainly started feeding me on them at a very young age. I think I was about 9 or 10 when I gave a rendition of The Geebung Polo Club for the golf club crowd at one of my parents’ parties, receiving enthusiastic applause.

So who knows where reading the rollicking verse of our most-loved bush poets to a Small might lead? And even if nowhere special as such, it will give them an appreciation for the musicality of language and introduce them to new and interesting vocabulary, as well as colours and numbers. In fact, Kathryn England has done an excellent job in this editing task. So to put this package together – lovely and lively language, colours and numbers, and bright, engaging illustrations full of movement from Cate James.

I would certainly commend it to you with a 5 🐎🐎🐎🐎🐎rating for babies and toddlers up to around 3 years old.