Just So Stories

Harper Collins Australia

Imprint: Harper Collins UK

May 2026

ISBN: 9780008814144

RRP: $17.99

I’ve been following this book’s journey via Katherine’s socials with great interest, knowing full well that it would be another of her totally captivating and heart-warming animal-centric narratives. And that it is.

Wombat is a street dog and always has been. She’s never known a home or regular meals or the human touch or complete safety. She’s just a tough little survivor. And when she sees the wildfire off in the distance she recognises it and knows she will need to find shelter. But what’s with the Voice inside her that keeps telling her to go towards the fire not away from it like the stream of humans is doing?

Henry is a young boy with a good heart. He is clever and curious, kind and capable. He lives with his mums and little sister in a comfortable if not chic neighbourhood. But when the fire is approaching at speed they must evacuate, leaving their home and possessions behind. The animal shelter where Mama Ro works – O.W.L. Orphaned Wildlife also evacuates and thankfully its residents are also safe.

As Wombat undertakes her journey of ‘destiny’ following the Voice which is guiding her closer and closer to Henry and his family, they are cramming themselves into a huge empty building with many other displaced people, all of them distressed and homeless. But this is a community that can come together no matter their differences and as the days and weeks go by, Wombat and Henry along with his family are brought together little by little.

Henry is very wary of dogs having been bitten by one as a toddler so he really doesn’t know that Wombat is his ‘destiny’ dog, even though he’s the one who gives her her name. It’s the rest of the community who give Wombat her status as the comforter of all, the smile-maker, the quiet listener and, in turn, the little dog learns that some humans can be trusted.

Of course, we know that scruffy Wombat, patient and trusting, will get the home she deserves just as Henry gets the heart-dog he was always meant to have. This is every bit as sweet and tender as the Ivan series and Pocket Bear. Unlike those, this is a verse novel – yes, that’s right, I’ve loved yet another verse novel! – and it really is the perfect voice for Wombat’s epic story.

At the same time Katherine explores the unity of a community facing the awful destruction of a natural disaster like the Californian wildfires, a situation we see over and over again here in Australia with our own terrible bushfires along with the cyclones, droughts and flooding plains of course. Your readers from capable Year 3s up to Year 7s will love this – as I’ve said repeatedly, they all love a great dog story but also they will respond to the warmth and compassion of this story, always such a striking feature of Katherine’s work. From me it’s a 5 🐕🐕🐕🐕🐕rating.