Just So Stories

Fremantle Press

September 2026

ISBN: 9781760996307

RRP: $26.99

Pre-order now from your usual suppliers!

Celebrate NAIDOC Week 2026 with Fremantle Press

• Beach Buddies (Helen Milroy)
• Milly Meelyu (Holly Bradley, Darryl Fogarty, illus Corinne Fogarty)
• Worl Barna: Sky Creatures (Jayden Boundry, illus Tyrown Waigana)
• Kep Barna: Water Creatures (Jayden Boundry, illus Tyrown Waigana)
• Little Blue Where Are You? (Sally Morgan, illus Karen Blair)
• I Call the Ocean Wardan (Ebony Froome, illus Dellas Bennell, Korrine Bennell-Yarran)
• Song of the Shadow of a Seed (Luisa Mitchell)
• Worlds Within a World (ed Casey Mulder)

This is just gorgeous! The rhyming text from Ebony Froome which introduces children to many Noongar words associated with the sea is well-written and beautifully cadenced. The illustrations by newcomers, Dellas and Korrine, to this demonstration of their art are sensational!

Each double spread is a symphony in itself with a glorious pallette of colours that evoke the beach, ocean and marine animals as this little girl shares her language. Not sure how to pronounce the words in language? There’s a QR code in front of book to help so there’s no need to feel shy or trepidatious about sharing with your kiddos.

I love the endpapers! Cleverly showing the same scene but with tide in and tide out – well played! I do have some favourite pages. The night scene with the maaamong (whales) breaching is just wonderful but I also really like the detail of the pelican (boodalang) greedy for fish (djildjit) and the seagulls (djerinkarra) with the detail of a cup of hot chips – we all know how much the silver gulls love a good chippie!

Whether your jarjums are Noongar or not, this is a book that will delight them and they will have enormous pleasure in sharing their newfound knowledge of the language, as well as sharing their own beach stories. This is easily a 5 🌊🏖️🐳🐚🐟 rating – and yes, why not pre-order it now so you (and your budget!) don’t miss out!.