Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe


  • Song of the Golden Hare – Jackie Morris

    Unbound May 2024 ISBN: 9781783528851 RRP: AUD$29.99, NZD$34.99 Distributed by New South Books This is probably one of the most difficult books to categorise I’ve ever read. Is it a picture book? Well,it’s very heavily and beautifully illustrated but I would need to call it an ‘extended’ picture book because it is quite a lengthy…

  • Herd- Stephen Hogtun

    Bloomsbury Australia July 2024 ISBN 9781526610737 Imprint Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP: $22.99 Home is where your family is… From start to finish this is just a beautiful book in all respects. With absolutely exquisite illustrations, this exploration of what ‘home’ means will give rise to many bountiful conversations with both Smalls and Not-so-Smalls about the…

  • L.O.L. Goat Laughs Out Loud: G.O.A.T. #2- Kate & Jol Temple. Illustrated by Rebel Challenger.

    Scholastic Australia May 2024 ISBN: 9781760261153 RRP: $18.99 Hooray for nonsense I say!! I know there’s a place for books with messages and deep themes but sometimes we all just need – as I used to tell the kiddos – a ‘lolly’ book. A book that is fun. A book that is light. A book…

  • Purinina – Christina Booth

    CSIRO Publishing  September 2024 | $ 24.99ISBN: 9781486317264  Taking its cue from the 2007 Notable picture book Purinina, a Devil’s Tale, this new devilish tale from Christina Booth follows Purinina’s life from her birth through the death of her mother to her producing her own offspring. It is written in simple yet very evocative terms…

  • Happy Book Week 2024!

    Yesterday kids lit creators and purveyors around the country were either attending celebratory events, presenting at schools or waiting for the newsflash. At the time I was enjoying a massage after treating myself to a leisurely brunch. Am I missing the Book Week buzz? A little, but to be honest, I’m still so deeply entrenched…

  • The Opal Dinosaur – Yvonne Mes. Illustrated by Sylvia Morris.

    CSIRO Publishing  August 2024 | $ 24.99ISBN: 9781486316793  Local Brisbane author Yvonne Mes has created a fascinating narrative non-fiction which kiddos will love, particularly that ever-present cohort of dino-philes. Turning the extraordinary discovery of opalised fossils in Lightning Ridge, by miner, Bob Foster, in 2019 into a drama-filled tale that outlines the fate of one…

  • Wedge-tailed Eagle- Claire Saxby/Christina Booth

    Walker Books Australia August 2024 ISBN13: 9781760655686 Australia RRP: $26.99 New Zealand RRP: $28.99 Another stunning book in the Nature Storybook series, combining a lyrical, almost poetic, narrative with fascinating facts, this time about Australia’s largest raptor – surely, one of our most magnificent winged creatures. For a bird nerd like myself, they are always…

  • Little Axel’s Axolotl – Juliette MacIver. Illustrated by Christopher Nielsen.

    Walker Books Australia July 2024 ISBN13:9781760656195 Australia RRP:$25.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 Anyone who has owned an axolotl, or indeed even just seen one, knows that they are such quirky little animals, they are begging to have stories written about them. I loved this picture book which is pure fun and kookiness. With it’s bouncing rhythm…

  • Kevin Saves the Show – Jacqueline Harvey. Illustrated by Kate Isobel Scott.

    Penguin Australia August 2024 Just in time to kick off the animals PB extravaganza, everyone’s newest favourite sheep is back and as one would expect is front and centre in the spotlight. Our jumbuck is the host of a karaoke singing competition, rocking his new purple ‘do’ and looking sharp as a wolf’s tooth. The…

  • The Silverback’s Song – Dannika Patterson and Nick Kohler.

    Morningstar Books August 2024 Iona College presents…. ISBN: 978-0-6485778-2-9 RRP: $25.00 April seems such a long time ago now, when I was thrilled to hear from local author, Dannika Patterson, to ask if I might write some teaching notes for a very special new book. This picture book has been a project like no other…