Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Magpie and the Snake – Steve Trotter

    Magpie Publishers October 2021 ISBN: 9780645178401 RRP: $19.99 Special school price: $15.99 I stumbled upon finding out about this book and was so taken by the premise that I messaged Steve and asked if I could review it for him. I am so very glad that I did. While Steve is a whitefulla, he consulted…

  • We Didn’t Think It Through – Gary Lonesborough

    Allen & Unwin July 2023 ISBN: 9781760526931 Publisher: A&U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $19.99 We are all aware of the rise in youth crime – one would have to living in a hermit’s cave not to know about it. And most of us are aware that in some areas, the problem is…

  • This Book Thinks Ya Deadly!: a celebration of Blak Excellence Corey Tutt/Molly Hunt

    Hardie Grant June 2023 Imprint: Hardie Grant Explore ISBN: 9781741178159 RRP: $34.99 Corey Tutt OAM, is the young innovator and creator behind the Deadly Science initiative and the acclaimed The First Scientists, and this new book will impress you even more I think. It is a visual feast as well as a fantastic resource for…

  • NAIDOC Week 2023

    National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of…

  • To read is to …

    Originally posted on Just So Stories: To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.” – A C Grayling, Financial Times (in a review of A History of Reading by…

  • Scout and the Rescue Dogs – Dianne Wolfer. With Illustrations by Tony Flowers.

    Walker Books June 2023 ISBN13: 9781760655860 Australia RRP: $15.99 New Zealand RRP: $17.99 Dianne Wolfer’s books are always so full of heart I find, there is a ‘feel good’ thread to them that is warming and reassuring. This new title is certainly no exception. Scout has been struggling to fit in at her new boarding…

  • The Black Cockatoo with One Feather Blue – Jodie McCleod/Eloise Short

    Wollemi Press July 2023 ISBN: 9780646874708 RRP: $26.99 Confidence can be a frail commodity for many of us, but, perhaps, particularly for little people. And, as a result, it is easy to imbue a particular object with special qualities that make us feel braver, stronger and smarter – whether professional golfer with a lucky tee…

  • Hamlet is Not OK – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia July 2023 No one will be surprised to hear that after reading a couple of chapters before I went to sleep last night, I gobbled the rest up in one sitting today – and loved every single word! It’s not Friday Barnes, nor Nanny Piggins but Spratt’s sass and sarcasm, her unerring sense…

  • Queen Narelle – Sally Murphy. Illustrated by Simon O’Carrigan.

    Walker Books June 2023 ISBN13: 9781760655334 Australia RRP:$16.99 New Zealand RRP:$18.99 Although I have often noted that the kiddos in my libraries are not all that taken with stories in verse, the one exception, always, is Sally Murphy’s books. These have invariably been on a constant rotation in our circulation stats. Clearly, this delightful new…

  • Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy [40th Anniversary] – Lynley Dodd

    Penguin Australia The real problem with these anniversary editions of our favourite books is that it always makes me feel incredibly old 😫 but, of course, at the same they always bring back so many happy memories of read-alouds for my own girls and grandies, as well as the many kiddos over a long teacher-librarian…