Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Now More Than Ever

    Gaywambana! And thank you to Kim, my Wiradjuri daughter, for teaching me the word for welcome. If you wander over to my other page, you’ll see my beautiful girls and grandchildren. I’ve saved some lovely new books for this year’s Sorry Day/Reconciliation Week event, and I hope you will enjoy seeing them and getting my…

  • Big Gorilla: a book of opposites – Anthony Browne

    Walker Books Australia May 2024 ISBN13:9781529509588 Australia RRP:$27.99 New Zealand RRP:$29.99 It is no secret that I absolutely adore Anthony Browne’s work – always have, always will. He is without doubt, in my top 10 creators list. And, like so many others, I particularly love his apes. This new book is just a lovely way…

  • This is My Book – Tim Harris & Heidi McKinnon

    Penguin Australia May 2024 What a cracking combination of creators!! Tim has such a flair for comic writing and Heidi’s illustrations, while appearing relatively simple, are always so full of character and expression. The vibrant contrast of colours between pages is inspired! I just LOVE this book and your kiddos will gobble it up as…

  • Tearaway Coach – Neridah McMullin/Andrew McLean

    Walker Books Australia April 2024 ISBN13:9781760653170 Australia RRP:$26.99 New Zealand RRP:$28.99 I’m certain that everyone has caught onto Neridah McMullin’s stunning historical picture books, but then again, there are always some who are late to the party. This is the latest, and is both a rousing adventure and a fascinating slice of history that will…

  • The Beehive – Megan Daley/Max Hamilton

    Walker Books Australia February 2024 ISBN13:9781760655228 Australia RRP:$26.99 New Zealand RRP:$28.99 Given it’s World Bee Day, it seems the right time to finally get to this one. I’m happy to say that Megan Daley and I go back quite a long way, and though we don’t often physically cross paths, we have some shared experiences…

  • Where is the Green Sheep? Celebration Book [20th Anniversary] – Mem Fox and Judy Horacek

    Penguin Australia April 2024 Twenty years ago this was a brand new sparkling book that was a huge hit in my library lessons. Now it’s an iconic staple of our Oz Kids Lit picture book canon, still sparkling, and still a huge hit with little readers. As soon as it was available I had my…

  • Catch Your Breath – Ravena Guron

    Harper Collins Australia March 2024 I really do love me a good cozy murder mystery, going right back to when I had almost every single Agatha Christie title, so I’m absolutely relishing this trend in YA fiction. This is the second of this author’s books I’ve read [see This Book Kills] and it’s even twistier…

  • Magic Counting – Nabeel Khan. Illustrated by Tete Garcia

    Scribble Kids Books June 2024ISBN: 9781922585400 RRP: $24.99 I am no big fan of maths but there are some aspects that I just love, and one of those is connections, just like the ones made in this book, between numbers, shapes and geometry. Although the suggested age group is 3-7, astute educators will recognise the…

  • The Adventures of William Brambleberry: Aviator Mouse – Geneviève Hopkins. Illustrated by Alexandra Heazlewood.

    Brambleberry Press ISBN: 978064815520 RRP: $23.99 From the first moment I saw this book, I knew I had to get my hands on it. How could I not… as the daughter of an WWII RAF crewie, albeit different squadron and different aircraft? When absolutely adorable softie William arrived with my copy from Geneviève, I was…

  • Mimi and Buwaarr/Mother and Baby – Melissa Greenwood

    Harper Collins Australia March 2024 Being your miimi (mother) is the most precious gift life can give. When you were born you opened my heart as wide as the ocean. Every new Melissa Greenwood book I see I love, and think – they can’t possibly get any more beautiful. And yet, here we are –…