Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Clementine Rose and the Paris Puzzle (#12) – Jacqueline Harvey

    Random House Australia ISBN: 9780857987884 Published: 27/06/2016 Imprint: Random House Australia Children’s   RRP $14.99 With great timing for Bastille Day favourite of many Clementine Rose is off to Paris with her family – both the old and the new (following the engagement of her mother Clarissa and Drew). Clemmie is beside herself with excitement not only because…

  • Yong : the journey of an unworthy son – Janeen Brian

    ISBN: 9781925126297 Imprint: WALKER BOOKS AUST Distributor: Harper Collins Distribution Services for Australia and New Zealand August 1, 2016 RRP $16.99 There have been many accounts of the Chinese coming to Australia in the gold rush era both for adults and children but this is the first I have read which explores the history of some of these…

  • Bee & Me – Alison Jay

    Walker Books Australia Imprint: Old Barn Books July 2016 ISBN 9781910646052 RRP $24.99 When an exhausted bee flew into Alison Jay’s studio she revived it with some sugary water and the genesis of this beautiful book was underway. A wordless story about friendship and a gentle introduction to an important ecological issue, this is an…

  • Steve Goes to Carnival – Joshua Button & Robyn Wells

    Magabala Books Published: Jul 2016 ISBN: 9781925360219 RRP $24.95   What a joyous feel-good book this is! I suppose to be honest I wasn’t expecting a book from Magabala to be about a gorilla in Rio – but why not?! Steve is a gorilla and he lives in a zoo in Rio. His favourite person…

  • A Hungry Lion or a Dwindling Assortment of Animals – Lucy Ruth Cummins

    Simon & Schuster Atheneum Books for Young Readers | 40 pages | ISBN 9781471147074 May 2016   There once was a hungry lion, a penguin (Well he was just here…), a little calico kitten (I could have sworn I just saw him…), a brown mouse (Now wait a second…), a bunny with floppy ears and…

  • Princess Betony and the Hobgoblin – Pamela Freeman/illustrated by Tamsin Ainslie

    ISBN: 9781921720260 Imprint: WALKER BOOKS AUST July 2016 RRP $12.99 This is a series new to me (thank you so much to Walker Books for adding me to your reviewer list!!) and I think it is just delightful judging by this one. Princess Betony is not exactly your average princess. She doesn’t much like wearing fussy dresses…

  • Jacky Ha-Ha – James Patterson, with Chris Grabenstein

    Random House Australia ISBN: 9781784754075 Published: 16/05/2016 Imprint: Arrow (Young)   RRP $15.99   The Middle School series from the James Patterson stable has been terrifically popular and as JP’s new character is introduced I foresee another avalanche of young readers. Since Jacky Hart first started school and had unkind kids make fun of her stuttering start (hence…

  • Sophie Someone – Hayley Long

    Allen & Unwin ISBN 9781471404894 Publisher: Bonnier Imprint: Hotkey Pub Date: June 2016 RRP $16.99 When Sophie was very young, around 4 or 5, she and her mother undertook a very hurried and confusing trip to Belgium. Sophie can clearly remember her mother tearing up their passports and stuffing them in a bin upon their…

  • Three – Justin D’Ath

    Ford St Publishing April 2016 ISBN: 9781925272277 Justin D’Ath seems to have a real gift for exciting adventure stories with tremendous appeal to both boys and girls. This novel is like a blockbuster thriller movie but for young readers and is just fabulous. Sunday or Sunny suspects nothing more than the usual school assembly as he…

  • The Truth According to Arthur: a funny book about fibbing –  Tim Hopgood/David Tazzyman

    Allen & Unwin July 2016 ISBN 9781408864999 Publisher:Bloomsbury Imprint:Bloomsbury Child RRP $14.99   A perfect book for a read-aloud that will gently point out that lying is not just a no-no but will also lead to a great discussion on ethics for young readers. Arthur breaks a rule. He is not to ride his brother’s…