Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Eyes that Kiss in the Corners – Joanna Ho. Illustrated by Dung Ho.

    Harper Collins Australia May 2021 ISBN: 9780062915627 ISBN 10: 0062915622 Imprint: HarperCollins US RRP: $24.99 This stunningly beautiful and lyrical book has been one of the most talked about on children’s book lists around the world for the past few weeks, and once you see it and read it, you will quickly realise why it is so. I,…

  • The Emu Who Ran Through the Sky – Helen Milroy

    Magabala Books April 2021 ISBN: 9781925936018 RRP: $22.99 This is the second in Helen Milroy’s exciting series Tales from the Bush Mob and will be as equally welcome as the first, Willy-willy Wagtail. Either as a read-aloud for your younger students or an independent read for your older ones this is definitely one to put…

  • Harry Potter Night Celebrations 2021

    Fifty young wizards and witches from Year 4 to Year 8 had plenty of magical fun at our big HP Night event yesterday afternoon. On arrival the kids all got a sealed envelope containing their Hogwarts letter, a laminated house themed bookmark (which neatly gave me the groups for the activity rotations) and a temporary…

  • 100 Remarkable Feats of Xander Maze – Clayton Zane Comber

    Harper Collins Australia June 2021 ISBN: 9781460759455 ISBN 10: 1460759451 Imprint: HarperCollins AU List Price: 19.99 AUD Age: From 14 years Believe me when I tell you that you will fall in love with Xander, and be sad to leave him at the end of this beautiful feel-good coming-of-age novel. Xander loves to make lists and #1 on his list…

  • Alice-Miranda in Egypt [Alice-Miranda #20] – Jacqueline Harvey

    Penguin Australia  June 2021 ISBN: 9781760891046 Imprint: Puffin Format: Paperback Pages: 416 RRP: $16.99 Put it on your ‘new books’ display and stand well back because the danger of stampede is very real! Twenty books on and everyone’s favourite little schoolgirl is still guaranteed to excite your readers – and not just your junior readers either. I know several older…

  • Endangered Animal Tales 1: Coco, the Fish with Hands – Aleesah Darlison. Illustrated by Mel Matthews.

    Penguin Random House June 2021 Yesterday at the EdSummit conference Brisbane, I had the great joy of hearing the amazing Aleesah Darlison deliver a lively and engaging presentation called “Saving the Environment through Story”. Uber-talented Aleesah has long been a huge advocate for the environment and has repeatedly taken up the cause of various creatures…

  • The Boy Who Stepped Through Time – Anna Ciddor

    Allen & Unwin ISBN:9781760526443 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children Pub Date:June 2021 RRP: $16.99 Once again Anna Ciddor has crafted an historical narrative that will both entertain her readers with humour, drama, terrific characters and exciting storylines, and inform them with fascinating, and no doubt, previously unknown facts about life in Ancient Rome. Perry,…

  • Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble

    Ready my review of this absolutely gorgeous poetry volume on KBR here. It is such a delight to the hand that its still on my desk at work and I pick it up just to savour holding it.

  • Bring the book to life…

    So last week I finished reading Nick Earls’ New Boy with Year 6 – and I thought we should mark the occasion by ‘taste testing’ some South African food (about which they are pretty excited!)- so a trip over to Kallangur this morning to buy some traditional items.

  • Temporarily MiA

    Yes it’s been a few weeks since I’ve put up any reviews – though I’ve still been reading. I have some family/personal issues complicating life at present and my mental acuity is stretched to its utmost accommodating those. I hope to be back on deck in the next week or so – have read some…