Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Duck Look Who’s Talking! (Duck, #1) – Matt Stanton

    Harper Collins Australia April 2026 Matt Stanton is a king of comedic writing and don’t we know it! And I’m going to be very frank here [no, not Frank – just Los] I really do think the Funny Kid books are great but it was always Duck who was the stand-out for me. Nothing speaks…

  • Time to Go to the Park – Emma Bowd/Leila Rudge

    Harper Collins Australia What a perfectly sweet and happy book this is to share with your favourite Smalls! It brings back many happy memories for me of parks and picnics with my own girls and then later The Kid [we still enjoy parks and picnics now she’s an adult -just in a different way!]. I…

  • The Framing: a memoir – Fernanda Dahlstrom

    Melbourne University Publishing Distributed by Simon & Schuster April 2026 ISBN: 9780522881882 RRP: $32.99 I have to thank Isobelle Carmody for drawing my attention to this outstanding book, and also, of course, to MUP for graciously allowing me to review it. It came to my attention that Isobelle and Fernanda will be in conversation at…

  • The Wild Unknown – Emily Gale

    Text Publishing April 2026 ISBN: 9781923058835 AU Price$16.99 NZ Price$21.00 In 2045 life is familiar but also not. If we think technology and AI is pervasive now, in the near-future that Emily Gale has conceived it’s inescapable, compulsory and deeply rooted within society. Eddie’s world is one filled with ‘smart’ technology from the smart windows…

  • Lexie Moon & the Remote Control Disaster – Melissa Garside and Lauren Mullinder

    Riveted Press Distributed by Simon & Schuster June 2026 ISBN13: 9781764256766 LIST PRICE: AU$ 12.99 / NZ$ 14.99 Hooray for #3 in the Lexie Moon series with this young inventor extraordinaire. In this new adventure, Lexie is constructing a ‘sauce bottle’ remote control car for an upcoming competition but is really having difficulties. Finding the…

  • Ruby’s Fire Safety Plan – Wendy Rudge. Tom Jellett.

    Wild Dog Books Distributed by Simon & Schuster January 2026 ISBN: 9781742037110 RRP: $26.99 Given that I was teaching little people home safety last year, I can say authentically that this book would be perfect to fit with that little slice of curriculum but more than that [having had The Firie in my life] this…

  • Oh No! – James Foley

    Penguin Australia Thursday night last I had just the best time at Quick Brown Fox’ Term 2 Reading Between the Wines and quite honestly, I’ve never laughed so much at any of the other RBtW evenings I’ve attended because not only is James Foley as hilarious in real life as his books but paired with…

  • Zac Power to the max!

    Hardie Grant April 2026 Mission Files #4 Mission Files #5 Mission Files #6 I am quite certain I’m not the only one who can say there were times in my libraries when I feared that the Zac Power books would end up in shreds when, as one or more was being returned, there would be…

  • The Midlands – Kate Gordon

    Kate Gordon has certainly forged a following since her first foray into publication. Some of her titles I have reviewed, others I have read but not reviewed but I definitely know which ones have received the positives and enthusiasms. I particularly enjoyed Whalesong. There is a lot to like about this newest one as well.…

  • Term 2 Between the Wines at Quick Brown Fox

    I haven’t been ‘going’ far from home given the uncertainty of petrol for a while and I have certainly missed my bookish events but absolutely couldn’t pass up the chance for last night’s BtW with Peter Carnavas, James Foley, Jayne McIntyre and the added bonus of Katrina Nannestad popping in. As usual, it was a…