Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Adventures of Pongo and Stink – Lisa Nicol. Illustrated by Karen Blair.

    Penguin Australia October 2025 I can absolutely guarantee you that your kiddos will be rolling about as happily as pigs in mud when they get their hands on this one – and it would make a super serial read-aloud for your younger readers. Pongo and Stink are fully fed up with living in a dark…

  • Between – Anna Walker

    Scribe Publications Imprint: Scribble September 2025 ISBN: 9781761381591AUD$27.99 (Hardback) Anna Walker has created a book that is a pure symphony of thoughts, that swirl around like gossamer on a breeze. I only wish I could give you some idea of how utterly beautiful and soothing it is. It is almost a meditation in print and…

  • Keeper of the Octopus – Neridah McMullin

    Walker Books Australia ISBN13:9781760659479 Australia RRP:$17.99 New Zealand RRP:$19.99 As I’ve said before, I have a fascination with octopuses with their superior intelligence and facility for extraordinary physical feats. And when you combine that with Neridah McMullin’s ability to weave a narrative of magical realism that has echoes of traditional folktales and lore, you get…

  • Family Secrets: The Girl and the Ghost #2 – Jacqueline Harvey.

    Penguin Australia October 2025 Officially, my blog break doesn’t finish until the weekend but how can I resist posting this one immediately, after gobbling it up over two nights! I was very excited to be back in France with Jet, Louis and Gabriel in another adventure. There is an exciting opening event as the Mona…

  • September Round-up

    I think I’ve got them all 🤔… reading at full speed of late, as I’m averaging about 10 parcels a week!! some real stand-outs this month including: Gloam, Great Writers & the Cats Who Owned Them, A Case of Mice and Murder, Ningaloo, Girl the Ghost #2: Family Secrets, The Long Shoe, Murder on North…

  • FYI: First Nations mob and allies

    Online Webinar, 3.00pm Friday, 26 September 2025 Insight into The National GatheringThe Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action (FAIRA) warmly invites you to join us in a webinar exploring insights into The National Gathering.A week ago more than 300 delegates attended a national gathering of First Nations (Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander) Traditional Custodians in Far…

  • Sometimes it’s just the little things……

    Like seeing yourself quoted on Goodreads……….. Or making it to the top of the waitlist after missing out on a ticket initially. I haven’t seen William speak for around ten years, though I have bumped into him at Coles Dolphins. Now I need to find the photos of his visit to Scarby when I invited…

  • It’s time for a short respite…

    It’s the spring vacation here in Qld and while neither The Kid nor I need worry about school holidays, she is on a break from her course, and I need a little catch-up time as well. I’ll still be reading – because hey, that’s like breathing for me – and I’ll also get some reviews…

  • Sid and the Very Hard to Find Squid – James O’Hanlon

    Publisher: CSIRO Publishing June 2025 | $ 26.99ISBN: 9781486319664 To finish off this deep dive into our oceans and marine life is another fabulous title from CSIRO for which all your critter lovers will go wild. Sid, like many kiddos, loves animals of all kinds and is always on the look-out for them. He thoroughly…

  • The Terrakeet – Jo Van Der Borgh. Illustrated by Jo Beasley.

    Walker Books Australia April 2025 ISBN13:9781760657673 Australia RRP:$25.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 In the shade of the gobi trees on the edge of Pincer Sea,live a family of Finlocks as peaceful as can be.They lomf and fish and fish and eat and hope that they will never meet …the Frimbulitic Terrakeet! From narrative-nonfiction to classics to humour…