Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Seven Keys – Allison Rushby

    Walker Books Australia July 2019 ISBN: 9781760650797 Australian RRP: $16.99 New Zealand RRP: $18.99   I absolutely loved my first introduction to Flossie Birdwhistle in The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery and was so excited to read her next adventure, though I’ve had to wait a while. Let me say right now, it was worth the wait. Allison Rushby…

  • The Besties Make a Splash – Felice Arena/Tom Jellett

    Penguin Random House April 2020 ISBN: 9781760890964 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $9.99 The Besties are back for their next little adventure and your little newly independent readers are going to be well pleased about that! Again Felice has taken a familiar event in the lives of many small humans and turned it into a fun and engaging romp with…

  • James Gong The Big Hit – Paul Collins

    Hybrid Publishers June 2020 ISBN 9781925736441 RRP: $16.99 Fourteen year old James Gong is pretty much a fairly average teenage boy living in suburbia with a family who are also pretty average – well in most respects. His mother rescues dogs and keeps them out the back of their house, to the frequent annoyance of…

  • The Missing: the True Story of my Family in World War II – Michael Rosen

    Walker Books March 2020 ISBN: 9781406386752 Imprint: Walker Australian RRP: $22.99 New Zealand RRP: $24.99 First of all I have to say that I have the greatest admiration for Laureate Michael Rosen, both as a writer, a champion of children’s reading and school libraries and as a human. His writing over the years has always resonated with readers both…

  • Easter Goodies – hopping your way!

    This is a swag of lovely titles for little people just in time for Easter gifts. When my girls were little – and then with my grandies – their Easter gift was always heavier on the book gifts than the chocolate. (Of course a little bit of chocolate is always necessary at any age!). So…

  • Archicards: Build a Castle [64 slot-together cards for creative fun] – Paul Farrell

    Harper Collins Australia March 2020 ISBN: 9781843654469 ISBN 10: 1843654466 Imprint: Pavilion Childrens – GB List Price: 24.99 AUD   So not exactly what I would normally expect to be reviewing but how super timely at this point in time! And while I’m sort of thinking that I could gift them either as a library prize or to a…

  • Derek Dool Supercool #1: Bust a Move– Adrian Beck. Illustrated by Scott Edgar

    Penguin Australia March 2020 ISBN: 9781760892951 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $14.99 Yep, we’ve all known a Derek – and indeed, some of us have taught one! Derek Dool thinks he is the ant’s pants really and doesn’t miss a chance to let everyone know. It’s just a shame that no one else seems to appreciate his supercool-ness. Mind you,…

  • The Ghost of Howler’s Beach (The Butter O’Bryan Mysteries #1)  – Jackie French

    Harper Collins Australia February 2020 ISBN: 9781460757727 ISBN 10: 1460757726 List Price: 16.99 AUD   To most folks Butter O’Bryan would seem a lucky boy.  In a time when many people are destitute and homeless he lives in a large and comfortable house, known as the Very Small Castle, he has three eccentric but loving aunts –  known…

  • How To Make Friends with the Dark – Kathleen Glasgow

    Harper Collins Australia April 2020 ISBN: 9781460751060 ISBN 10: 146075106X Imprint: HarperCollins – AU List Price: 19.99 AUD   Here is what happens when your mother dies. My timing for reading this could have been better really. It was the 5th anniversary of losing my girl this past week, a scant fortnight before  Miss K’s 10th birthday. So at…

  • 7 Steps to Get Your Child Reading – Louise Park

      Allen & Unwin February 2020 ISBN 9781760524678 RRP $24.99 Au Louise Park is not only a highly regarded writer of over 250 books including popular series, with a career spanning 30 years, but also a recognised literacy expert and educational consultant with a passion for supporting Indigenous children, ESL students and at-risk learners. Now…