Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Review from School Library Journal – April 2026

  • Why We Love Footy: an Aussie Rules History in 50 Great Moments – Martin Blake

    Allen & Unwin August 2026 ISBN:9781761472930 Publisher:Allen & Unwin Imprint:Allen & Unwin RRP: $34.99 I freely admit as always that I’m a league girl, always have been and always will be, but that’s not to say I’m entirely ignorant nor uninterested in the aerial ping-pong version [ok, so I had to get that in somewhere!].…

  • Animal Force – Cerise Madsen

    New South Books Publisher: Midnight Sun 9781922858740/July 2026/AUD$17.99, NZD$19.99 This would be a useful book for a middle-grade serial read to ‘read-around-your-topic’ in environmental themes especially. Although the publisher notes suggest 6 years +, personally I feel it is more suited to older and more discerning readers who would be better able to absorb some…

  • The Boy Who Drew Cats- Lafcadio Hearn: a Japanese folktale. Illustratedby Anita Kreituse.

    New South Books Publisher: Tuttle 9780804859561/May 2026/AUD$29.99 I had never heard of Lafcadio Hearn but now that I’ve gone down some wormholes finding out more about him [here’s one article but many more to be found], surely this is a man with an extraordinary life story. And while I have both studied and taught Japanese…

  • The Cats of Australia – Jodie Stewart

    Harper Collins Australia May 2026 Imprint: ABC Books AU ISBN: 9780733343957 This is one I’ve dipped in and out of, which was easy to do with distinctly different chapters like a mini-essay, and I have to say it’s been just a delight over the past few weeks to do so. Although I’ve happily owned both dogs and…

  • A little excitement……

    Seeing my new books up and flying on the publisher’s website for their autumn release….along with last year’s release of The Roulettes

  • You, Me, Community – Zanni Louise. Tony Flowers.

    Walker Books Australia August 2026 ISBN13:9781760658076 Australia RRP:$25.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 Isn’t it a joy when you pick up a picture book in which the text and illustrations are exactly right? From the adorable endpapers and right throughout, this gentle and very pertinent rhyming text, both Smalls and Not-So-Smalls will love both the book and…

  • Emma Memma: Hide-and-Seek lift-the-flap

    Penguin Australia ISBN: 9781761355639 Imprint: Puffin Format: Board Book RRP: $14.99 I make no secret of how much I🧡 Emma Memma’s work – she was a fabulous Wiggle, even though we were long past Wiggle stage – but has continued to go from strength to strength with her outstanding contribution to both kids lit, children’s imaginations and, of course,…

  • Football: Horrible Histories – Terry Deary. Illustrated by Martin Brown.

    All about the gruesome game – this book is a real keeper! Scholastic Australia ISBN: 9780702344800 ISBN-10: 070234480X Series: Horrible Histories May 2026 RRP: $21.99 It’s not called the World Game for nothing and while I’m not a fan myself, I not only have friends who are but have seen the enthusiasm of the kiddos I’ve taught, particularly…

  • Gold Standard? Remembering the Hawke Government – Edited by Frank Biongiorno, Carolyn Holbrook & Joshua Black

    NewSouth Books 9781761170522 / April 2026 / RRP $39.99 For a considerable chunk of my adult life I was completely apolitical and then along came Gough Whitlam and after the disgraceful dismissal, some 8 years later Robert James Lee Hawke, brash and breezy, blew into the top slot and completely changed the landscape of our country with economic…