Just So Stories

New South Books

Publisher: Tuttle

9780804859561/May 2026/AUD$29.99

I had never heard of Lafcadio Hearn but now that I’ve gone down some wormholes finding out more about him [here’s one article but many more to be found], surely this is a man with an extraordinary life story. And while I have both studied and taught Japanese language and culture, I hadn’t heard this folktale before so that’s been a real joy as well.

While Hearn’s retelling of the tale is perfectly lovely, it is the truly sublime illustrations that make this little book glow like a star. A small boy with an obsession for drawing cats is deemed not farmer material by his family, and subsequently not priest material by the local monastery but finds his true calling as an artist when his stunning cat art defeats the Goblin Rat King.

It is both charming and exciting – a story that children will truly love and for all those gentler souls, a way of absorbing that creativity can be more powerful than any other actions.

What an absolute gem of a book this is! I cannot convey how truly beautiful and stylish it is, so do yourself and your readers a favour and pick up a copy if you have not already done so. For cat lovers, folktale enthusiasts, Japanese culture aficionados and all of you who just appreciate a truly beautiful book this is a corker – of course, Whiskers aka the Demon Spawn and I both endorse it with a 5 🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛🐈‍⬛rating for readers from around 7/8 years upwards.