Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Wind in the Willows -‘Dolce Domum’ – Kenneth Grahame

    First published in 1908, my copy came to me on my 5th birthday [illustrated by Ernest Shephard], and I was at once completely and utterly besotted with life on the riverbank, Toad Hall and in the Wild Wood. This was a book on regular rotation in my reading roundabout. I adored every word of it. Read more

  • Harry Christmas!

    Bloomsbury ‘Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees.’ Ron came back five minutes later, carrying three foaming tankards of hot Butterbeer. ‘Happy Christmas!’ he said Read more

  • From the Archives: Classic Australian Christmas fare with Michael Salmon

    It has been my great privilege to be friends with Michael for almost a decade now. He is not only a man of immense talent, an illustrious creative career spanning decades across genres, but is an exceptionally warm and wonderful human. One of our fondest memories, since The Kid came to live with me is Read more

  • From the Archives: Letters from Father Christmas – J. R. R. Tolkien

    One of my favourite Christmas books of all time, and one that is always so delightful to share with kids. Still in my ‘go to’ shelf of Xmas read-alouds for kiddos. Read more about the book here at the Tolkien Gateway. And I honestly think, as a longtime Tolkien fan, that I should really lash Read more

  • The Box of Delights – John Masefield

    Masefield was the Poet Laureate from 1930 to 1967 and his two children’s books, The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, were both great favourites of mine as a child. I was hugely excited when The Box of Delights was adapted by the BBC into an absolutely marvellous TV series and even moreso, when Read more

  • From the Archives: The Nanny Piggins Guide to Conquering Christmas – R. A. Spratt

    Just over a week ago The Kid and I tootled into the city to see R. A. Spratt’s highly entertaining Christmas Stories. Naturally, Nanny Piggins was a feature – but also Friday Barnes. It was a lot of fun and it was clear that so many of the kiddos present were thrilled to be meeting Read more

Archived Reviews