Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Girl and the Ghost #3 Grand Opening – Jacqueline Harvey

    Penguin Australia May 2026 ISBN: 9781761349430 RRP: $16.99 There will be plenty of delighted fans when this one hits the shelves [my advice is to buy multiple copies] as this fabulous series continues. Josephine, often known as Jet, and her family are gearing up for the grand opening of their restored chateau hotel but there is…

  • Hunt for the Nighthawks – Felice Arena

    Penguin Australia July 2026 Knowing there was a brand new Felice Arena mystery/adventure on the way has been a very exciting prospect and thus, when the ARC arrived two days ago, I pounced on it immediately and I have loved every word of it! For one thing, I have always had a great interest in…

  • The Man From Snowy River: Australian Classics for Little Ones Banjo- Paterson/Cate James. llustrated by Cate James.

    Penguin Australia April 2026 I will be the first to say that at first sight I thought – ummm, how is this going to work? But you know what? Somehow it does. Taking lines from the poem as a cue on each page the text is combined with a background colour and a number, so:…

  • Feathers of Farwood and the Gripps Curse – Jayne McIntyre

    Riveted Press Distributed by Simon & Schuster March 2026 ISBN13: 9781764256704 RRP: $AU22.99 / NZ$ 26.99 I could have actually written this review 3 months ago because I was lucky enough to be able to write teaching notes for this absolutely gorgeous book back in December. I was thrilled when Jayne contacted me and I…

  • Small Wonder – Ross Montgomery

    Walker Books September 2025 ISBN13:9781529526127 Australia RRP:$18.99 New Zealand RRP:$21.99 I loved The Chime Seekers and I am Rebel, both of which cemented Ross as an exciting author of adventure/fantasy, so I was very pleased to get this one. What a rousing rollercoaster adventure this one is! Tick has been raised by Grandfather along with…

  • Neeka and the Great Search: #3 Wilder Zoo – Tina Strachan. Illustrated by Max Hamilton.

    Harper Collins Australia Imprint: Angus & Robertson I would be seriously surprised if anyone had missed the charming trilogy now at its conclusion. What a credit it is to this debut author, Tina Strachan, to start off with such a crackerjack set of books! For me, there’s the added bonus of meeting Tina and adding…

  • Romeo V Juliet – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia February 2026 Imprint: Penguin ISBN: 9781761349744 RRP: $16.99 If Hamlet is Not OK made you laugh a lot and cast Shakespeare into a different light altogether, verily forsooth! just wait till you get thy hands on this tome. I truly wish this had been around the last time I taught R&J [though I say…

  • The Tinysaurs – Sally Odgers. Adele K. Thomas

    Scholastic Australia February 2026 9781761528576 RRP: $16.99 Cute poster for your library or just for fun All your Smalls who have adored Pearl and friends, are going to lap this up like a cat with a saucer of cream. It’s cute and it’s colourful and it’s really cleverly engaging with a twist on many ideas.…

  • A Light on the Rocks – Helen Edwards

    I’ve quickly come to realise that Helen’s historical novels are impeccably researched and completely engrossing, so much so that it is not just your young readers who will enjoy them, but also adults. As I have mentioned previously I, for one, didn’t know much about Adelaide’s or South Australia’s history, certainly not as a child,…

  • Turbo Turtle: Scales and Tails #4- Gregg Dreise

    Magabala Books Hachette Australia November 2025 | 9781922864109 | RRP $27.99 A new Gregg Dreise book is always a delight- just like the man himself and this one, in the Scales and Tails sequence, is not only a significant story handed down to Gregg from his uncle, but references the Stolen Generation, providing an opportunity to introduce this topic…