Just So Stories

If I’m completely honest I will say there’s not much that I miss about my work of 30 years – except when it comes to the special events, the displays and – of course! – the dressing up! But I love seeing what others are doing so here are a few ‘bookish’ books I’ve saved up for this always hectic week.

Story Rug – Sophie Blackall/Phoebe Wahl

Hachette

Imprint: Lothian Children’s Books

9780734424464|July 28, 2026|RRP $24.99

What better way to express the weaving together of stories from all over than with the actual weaving together a rug that all can share? Once upon a time, nothing went to waste so anything made of fabric once it was too worn out to be used for its intended purpose was often repurposed into rag rugs.

They were easily made – either by braiding, hooking, progging or weaving- and were not only thrifty and a gentle occupation for the makers (mostly women or children), they were extremely warm and soft on cold floors or useful insulation against cracks and crannies with chilly draughts. They were particularly popular in the 19th century and World War II when fabric was expensive and not to be discarded thoughtlessly.

Because this was a handicraft practised all around the world, there is plentiful information online about the history of it. Now award-winner Sophie Blackall has brought a contemporary spotlight onto a very old craft with this delightful new story. The children of Class 203 are in a braiding craze. They braid each other’s hair, toy horse tails and manes and pretty much anything they can find but Noah has nothing to braid and he really wants to try it out. Clever teacher Ms Morena cuts an old whiteboard rag into strips and Noah is off and braiding!

And before too long, there are others joining in, especially after Noah’s dad shows him how to stitch the various strips together. With various children in the class bringing old clothes and other items to cut into strips and braid, this is a project that grows like Topsy.

And before too long, the classroom has a brand-new but upcycled story rug – big enough for everyone to share stories, and also holding stories from each person who brought something along. What a great project for a class or a group!

Certainly, if I was still in my library and running my Clever Fingers craft sessions this would definitely be on the agenda. It’s creative, it’s promoting that dexterity and problem solving we know is so vital to cognitive development, it’s environmentally sound and, above all, it’s supremely practical and kids love nothing better than making something that’s genuinely useful.

Delightful illustrations from Phoebe Wahl complement the text and like many US titles – the dust jacket is wonderful but completely different to the actual binding, which is also super in its own right. How many stories can your kiddos weave together? It’s a 4 🪡🪡🪡🪡 rating for readers from about 6/7 years upwards.

Ben’s Library – Amani Uduman. Illustrated by Joanna Bartel

New Frontier Publishing

June 2026 ISBN : 978-1-923331-15-0 PRICE : $26.99

This is a simple but sweet story of two new friends and neighbours who share a love of books. Elissa is a voracious reader. She’s read all the many books on her own shelves already. What to do? Of course, go to the school library and borrow as many new reads as possible.

Elissa is me, in fact. That’s exactly how it played out when I was a kid – though I also raided my big brother’s and my Father Bear’s shelves if I could.

As Elissa staggers back home with her exploding backpack of books, she comes across the new street library made installed by Ben and his dad. So far, it only has one book in it but that’s ok because when Elissa realises she has no room for all the library books, she does what every sensible reader (and librarian) does, she culls the collection to free up valuable real estate. And now, she knows exactly where those culled books can go! Ben’s Library is up and running!

A fun and simple story about community libraries that will engage children who have no doubt seen the many street libraries popping up all over. It’s a 3 📖📖📖 rating from me for this one.

A Bigger Book – Hannah Somerville

Hardie Grant Australia

July 2026

ISBN:9781761216770

Price:AU$24.99, NZ$27.99

Publisher:Hardie Grant Children’s Publishing

Hannah Sommerville takes a leap from illustrator to author/illustrator with this subtle but lovely book.

I can only imagine how frustrating dyslexia must be for a little person like Cora. To want to be able to read as easily as everybody else and to explore for oneself the wonders held between the covers is something that Cora and many others long for.

And it is often a hard road to travel – and particularly if not diagnosed. Hopefully, we’ve come a long way since the days when children were labelled as stupid or even stubborn for not being able to make sense of reading, and when adults would not admit to being illiterate (though that still happens of course).

But Cora’s love of books is matched by her love of map-making and when she discovers that there are books filled with glorious maps and not pages and pages of tiny printed words, she knows this is a book she can ‘read’ herself. Not only that, but she can make her own atlas with her wonderful imagined lands and the stories that happen in those.

This is beautifully and sensitively written and the illustrations are glorious. As librarians, and educators, and -indeed, humans- we know that stories are not just written/typed words on pages and the sharing of stories is such a fundamental human activity that everyone deserves to find their own path to them.

This is a gentle introduction to dyslexia and neuro-diversity for children which with some unpacking will empower those who are neuro-divergent and enable others to develop an understanding and empathy for those of their peers who may be struggling. Though somewhat oblique there will be readers who will make the inference and, with guidance, others will do so as well.

I do think there may have been real benefit in some back matter on resources or agencies to learn more about dyslexia. It does, however, reinforce our teaching that everyone is different, everyone learns in different ways and everyone is a storyteller. It’s a 4🗺️🗺️🗺️🗺️rating for this very special book.