Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe



  • Easter Goodies – hopping your way!

    This is a swag of lovely titles for little people just in time for Easter gifts. When my girls were little – and then with my grandies – their Easter gift was always heavier on the book gifts than the chocolate. (Of course a little bit of chocolate is always necessary at any age!). So Read more

  • Archicards: Build a Castle [64 slot-together cards for creative fun] – Paul Farrell

    Harper Collins Australia March 2020 ISBN: 9781843654469 ISBN 10: 1843654466 Imprint: Pavilion Childrens – GB List Price: 24.99 AUD   So not exactly what I would normally expect to be reviewing but how super timely at this point in time! And while I’m sort of thinking that I could gift them either as a library prize or to a Read more

  • Derek Dool Supercool #1: Bust a Move– Adrian Beck. Illustrated by Scott Edgar

    Penguin Australia March 2020 ISBN: 9781760892951 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $14.99 Yep, we’ve all known a Derek – and indeed, some of us have taught one! Derek Dool thinks he is the ant’s pants really and doesn’t miss a chance to let everyone know. It’s just a shame that no one else seems to appreciate his supercool-ness. Mind you, Read more

  • The Ghost of Howler’s Beach (The Butter O’Bryan Mysteries #1)  – Jackie French

    Harper Collins Australia February 2020 ISBN: 9781460757727 ISBN 10: 1460757726 List Price: 16.99 AUD   To most folks Butter O’Bryan would seem a lucky boy.  In a time when many people are destitute and homeless he lives in a large and comfortable house, known as the Very Small Castle, he has three eccentric but loving aunts –  known Read more

  • How To Make Friends with the Dark – Kathleen Glasgow

    Harper Collins Australia April 2020 ISBN: 9781460751060 ISBN 10: 146075106X Imprint: HarperCollins – AU List Price: 19.99 AUD   Here is what happens when your mother dies. My timing for reading this could have been better really. It was the 5th anniversary of losing my girl this past week, a scant fortnight before  Miss K’s 10th birthday. So at Read more

  • 7 Steps to Get Your Child Reading – Louise Park

      Allen & Unwin February 2020 ISBN 9781760524678 RRP $24.99 Au Louise Park is not only a highly regarded writer of over 250 books including popular series, with a career spanning 30 years, but also a recognised literacy expert and educational consultant with a passion for supporting Indigenous children, ESL students and at-risk learners. Now Read more