Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • BrilliANT : A Journey into the Impressive Life of an Ant- Rosi Ngwenya and Sandy Flett

    For a word nerd such as I, or your participANTs, whether in the classroom or library – including any miscreANTs that some of you will have in your group of readers, this is just fANTastic! Who would ever have ANTicipated a book that would reveal the entire life journey of an ant and its colony Read more

  • Spiro – Anna McGregor

    Scribble July 2024 ISBN: 9781761381010 RRP: $24.99 Here’s the next delightful book in this week’s mini-beast theme, and what a terrific comedy of errors it is. Spiro is the epitome of perseverance, effort and resilience (which, obviously, will be a great talking point for your Smalls), as he works hard on one web after another Read more

  • Borderlands: Riding the Slipstream – Edited by Paul Collins

    Ford St Publishing June 2024 ISBN: 9781922696403 RRP: $29.99 Paul Collins and Ford St Publishing are, IMO, the most successful editors and creators of anthologies for young people in the country. Just yesterday FB reminded me that the very first published review I ever did was sent off to ReadPlus 12 years ago and it Read more

  • Dung Beetle on a Roll – Sandra Severgnini

    August 2024 | $ 24.99ISBN: 9781486318872 Publisher: CSIRO Publishing You only need to take one look at this adorable vid clip to know that both you and your kids will fall in love with Dung Beetle. Sometimes I’m a bit spoilt and was about a month ago, meeting Sandra for the first time. I was Read more

  • Puppet – David Almond. Illustrated by Lizzy Stewart.

    Walker Books Australia ISBN13:9781406391619 Australia RRP:$24.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 David Almond‘s Skellig is a book that has always stood out among the thousands I’ve read over the past 60 odd years. The magical realism, the sheer beauty of the characters and their actions, and the undeniable urgency to turn the page all make for just Read more

  • Walls – Tania Ingram. Illustrated by Ruth-Mary Smith.

    Wombat Books July 2024 ISBN: 9781761111518 RRP: $26.99 Really, isn’t Tania Ingram just so multi-skilled? From the JF humour of Jinny & Cooper and Aggie Flea to the recently released The Other Shadow for older readers (a must-read if you haven’t already) through to picture books with heart such as Oma’s Buttons, she is an Read more

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