Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Spot Goes to the Park – Eric Hill

    Penguin Australia March 2022 ISBN: 9780241517499ISBN-10: 0241517494Publisher: Penguin UK Imprint: Puffin RRP: $18.99 Honestly, I could enjoy Spot for another 40 years. The first book I ever bought my youngest child, The Kid’s mummy (born 1980, the same year as Spot!) was Where’s Spot?, so this little pup has a soft spot in my heart forever. This is…

  • The Chime Seekers – Ross Montgomery

    Walker Books Australia November 2021 ISBN: 9781406391190Imprint: Walker RRP: $18.99 Au , $21.99 NZ Some of us of a certain vintage have enduring memories of Jareth, The Goblin King (aka the divine David Bowie) taking away baby Toby when Sarah becomes so frustrated with her little brother that she wishes him gone. Ross Montgomery has combined that…

  • James Gong: the Chinese Dragon – Paul Collins

    Hybrid Publishers February 2022 ISBN: 9781925736793 RRP: $16.99 Your middle school kids will love this second instalment of James Gong (see James Gong: The Big Hit if you missed the first). Paul Collins has drawn on his experiences as a martial arts expert to bring another action-packed episode in the life of James Gong to…

  • Jacqueline: a soldier’s daugher – Pierre-Jacques Ober/Jules Ober

    Ford St Publishing October 2021 ISBN: 9781925804911 RRP: $34.99 Jacqueline is an only child and has always dreamed of having a sister. Little does she know she will find one in the most unexpected and, arguably, difficult circumstances ever. When the Second World War breaks out, Jacqueline’s life is turned topsy-turvy. Her father goes away…

  • The Break – Phillip Gwynne

    Penguin Australia September 2021 ISBN: 9780143789383 Imprint: Penguin RRP: $19.99 I have to say Phillip is soooooo very good at the fast-paced action/adventure genre and, all the while, making it entirely believable. It did take me a while to work through the pile to get to this one but I absolutely gobbled it up when I did. Anyone…

  • Monster – Walter Dean Myers

    Harper Collins Australia December 2021 ISBN: 9780064407311 ISBN 10: 0064407314 Imprint: HarperCollins US List Price: 19.99 AUD I will be perfectly honest. I had not heard of Walter Dean Myers before reading this book but since looking up his bio, see that he was, and is a highly regarded writer of, particularly, young adult fiction in the USA. Sometimes…

  • When the War Came Home – Lesley Parr

    Bloomsbury Australia March 2022 ISBN: 9781526621009 Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing. Imprint: Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP: $14.99 A year ago I reviewed my first Lesley Parr historical fiction and absolutely loved it – I book-talked it for weeks afterwards to my kiddos, many of whom also enjoyed it hugely. So I was most excited to receive this…

  • Being Britney: Pieces of a Modern Icon – Jennifer Otter Bickerdike

    Allen & Unwin November 2021 ISBN: 9781788705240 Publisher: Bonnier Imprint: Nine Eight Book RRP: $29.99 To be perfectly frank, I cannot say I’ve ever been a super fan of Britney, either as a person or an entertainer. I don’t mean I disliked her or dismissed her but she was just never high in my consciousness…

  • Interned – Pamela Rushby

    Walker Books March 2022 ISBN: 9781760653019Imprint: Walker Books AustraliaAustralian RRP: $17.99New Zealand RRP: $19.99 I absolutely love Pam’s writing, and her historical fiction is especially satisfying in my eyes, particularly when she incorporates history of Brisbane and Australia. I moved to Queensland in 1985 and while that’s a long time ago, and I’ve been teaching here since 1993, there…

  • Endangered Animal Tales 3: Rusty The Rainbow Bird – Aleesah Darlison/Mel Matthews

    My review for Aleesah’s newest book in this fab series is now live on Kids Book Review – why not check it out!