Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Spellhound: a Dragons of Hallow #1 – Lian Tanner

    Allen & Unwin April 2023 ISBN:9781761180057 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $17.99 I’m so remorseful that I didn’t get to this one sooner (one of the books that was shunted into a box during the great house move) because it is just wonderful! I love this intro from the publisher…A fascinating tale filled…

  • 100 Things to Know about the Unknown

    Harper Collins Australia June 2023 by Alex Frith  Jerome Martin  Alice James  Tom Mumbray  Lan Cook  Micaela Tapsell Illustrated by Federico Mariani Dominique Byron Shaw Nielsen This is very much the type of book my nerdy child-self loved, and which so many children still love. Jam-packed with fascinating facts that are wildly diverse in nature, and, like a box of chocolates, that one can…

  • It’s Not Summer Without You – Jenny Han

    Book 2 in the Summer I Turned Pretty Series April 2023 Twelve years after its initial release, the second in Jenny Han’s Summer trilogy is the third of her books to be adapted for the screen, and little wonder as these have been some of the hottest books in the secondary library/young adult stakes. Belly…

  • Feathered Philosophy…

    It was quite a curious thing that on Friday, I chose two books from my review shelf to share with a Year 1 class I was taking, and they both complemented each other so perfectly. One I chose because I knew how well it is always received, the other because the title made me giggle.…

  • The Fortune Maker – Catherine Norton

    Harper Collins Australia August 2023 The early 20th century pre-Great War was an interesting time, and there were many fads and fashions which likely strike us these days as being quite bizarre. Certainly there were interests which we could or would consider quite normal such as the growing enthusiasm for motorcars, bicycling, and a fondness…

  • The Key to Rome – Sophie Masson

    Cover and internal illustrations by Lorena Carrington Published by Eagle Books, an imprint of Christmas Press, May 2023 ISBN 9780645378856 RRP: $19.99 There’s nothing quite like a good ancient Roman historical fiction, and this one full of drama,, deceit and death will appeal to many middle grade readers who relish an exciting and suspense-filled adventure.…

  • Katrina Nannestad: new dresses for old favourites

    Harper Collins Australia July 2023 Olive of Groves (Olive of Groves #1) Olive of Groves and the Great Slurp of Time(Olive of Groves #2) Olive of Groves and the Right Royal Romp (Olive of Groves #3) Here comes one of the most popular series I’ve had in my primary libraries, all dressed up in delectable…

  • I am Lupe – Sela Ahosivi-Atiola/Yani Agustina

    Hachette JUL 26, 2023 | 9780734422538 | RRP $24.99 Imprint: Lothian Children’s Books Perhaps because I have almost always been in schools with kiddos of diverse cultural backgrounds, where that has simply been a matter of course, I cannot recall a single instance of children asking questions of others with different skin tones or hair etc. That does not…

  • The Black Cockatoo with One Feather Blue – Jodie McLeod/Eloise Short

    On KBR today Confidence can be a frail commodity for many of us, but, perhaps, particularly for little people. And, as a result, it is easy to imbue a particular object with special qualities that make us feel braver, stronger and smarter – whether professional golfer with a lucky tee or a toddler with a…

  • A Very Dinosaur Birthday – Adam Wallace. Illustrated by Christopher Nielsen.

    Harper Collins Australia July 2023 We know most kids are wild about dinosaurs. Certainly The Kid, and her mother before her were besotted with them as littles, but right up to loving every gritty, Velociraptor moment of the Jurassic Park franchise. And who wouldn’t want to have a shebang dino birthday party?? (in actual fact,…