Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • I’m Not Afraid of Spiders – Caitlin Henderson. Annie Henderson

    CSIRO Publishing New South Books 9781486318551/June 2026/Hardback/AUD$26.99, NZD$32.99 We don’t mind spiders in this house which is probably just as well because we always have a few in residence, as well as the giants down the backyard. But even when she was Small, The Kid was just as intrigued and interested in arachnids as she… Read more

  • This Drop of Water – Stef Gemmill. Illustrated by Mel Armstrong.

    CSIRO Publishing New South Books 9781486319916/ November 2026/Hardback/GEN/AUD$26.99, NZD$32.99 Here’s another great one to add to your teaching tool kit. Those inevitable water cycle units can always use a burst of freshness can’t they? And Stef Gemmil’s narrative of a single drop’s journey around the cycle makes the learning a bit of fun as well… Read more

  • Last Bat of the Night – David Gullan. Samantha Metcalfe

    CSIRO Publishing Hardback | August 2026 ISBN: 9781486318728 RRP: AUD$26.99, NZD$32.99 [hardback available at New South Publishing] If you live in a place where the bats stream across the evening sky, you will know exactly the thrill of this. Some children will also make connections, others may not know this excitement. But this beautiful book… Read more

  • Racing Puffing Billy- Corinne Fenton/Mark Wilson

    Windy Hollow Books Walker Books August 2026 ISBN13:9781922998279 Australia RRP:$29.99 New Zealand RRP:$34.99 I love trains. It’s been some time since I’ve been on a properly exciting train journey but I do love them. As I write this review, I’m also watching a documentary on the 100th anniversary of the Flying Scotsman, as it happens.… Read more

  • Picture Book Bonus: Gallipoli – Dawn of the ANZAC Spirit: Australia Remembers #7 – Tom Lewis

    Little Big Sky May 2026 ISBN13: 9781923514324 LIST PRICE: AU$ 24.99 / NZ$ 28.99 While this one was sent to me in late April, it arrived too late for ANZAC Day [and didn’t make it to my Blak ANZACs post with titles also from Big Sky], so I decided it would be better kept for… Read more

  • The Everywhere Train- Deborah Frenkel. Danny Snell

    Hardie Grant Publishing September 2026 9781761213953 $24.99 Unless you were under a rock or incapacitated in some way, you could not have missed the sensation that was The Truck Cat. What a hugely popular choice it was for NSS as well. Now from that same great pairing is this absolutely beautiful book that allows children… Read more

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