Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Big Switch: #2 It’s a Twin Thing – Kristin Darell. Illustrated by A. Yi

    Penguin Australia From the super switched-on and sparky twin, Kristin Darell, comes the second in her terrific new series about twins, Abi and Brook. These girls are so likeable and their posse of friends, along with the readers, would agree. They are smart and funny, they are clever but not obnoxiously ‘swotty’ and they each…

  • Ella and the Call of the Wild- Cassy Polimeni. Illustrated by Hykie Breeze.

    UWAP August 2026 ISBN13: 9781760803360 LIST PRICE: AU$ 15.99 / NZ$ 18.99 Sadly we are now at the end of the wonderful froglicious Ella series but what a great one to finish it up. Because in this final, this little girl who has been a ‘voice’ for frogs, their safety and their habitats throughout, takes…

  • Happy Book Week 2026!

    If I’m completely honest I will say there’s not much that I miss about my work of 30 years – except when it comes to the special events, the displays and – of course! – the dressing up! But I love seeing what others are doing so here are a few ‘bookish’ books I’ve saved…

  • Betsy & Bon: Three Sweet Stories – Simon Howe

    UQP September 2026 ISBN: 9780702268953 RRP: $26.99 Here’s a little book that will absolutely delight younger readers (and very likely, older ones as well) because it is as sweet as the title suggests. It is delightfully pretty with the cutest of cute characters and the problems faced by these little critters are certainly very real…

  • Amira Swift: #1Talent Show, #1 Fair Day Fun – Sarah Ayoub. Nina Nill.

    Harper Collins Australia Imprint: HarperCollins AU July 2026 Series: Amira Swift RRP: $15.99 Classroom Resource Talent Show ISBN: 9781460766675 Fair Day Fun ISBN: 9781460766682 And here comes another new series for your younger readers who, I predict, will fall in love with Amira, her family and her friends along with her everyday adventures. This is just delightful as it…

  • Bandoola: an elephant’s story – Beverley McWilliams

    UWA Publishing Simon & Schuster July 2026 ISBN13: 9781760803377 LIST PRICE: AU$ 17.99 / NZ$ 20.99 Your middle grade readers, particularly the animal lovers or indeed the historical fiction lovers, will lap this one up. Inspired by a true story of an amazing rescue during WWII in Burma, now Myanmar, this is an elephant story…

  • Edwina the Emu : 30th Anniversary Edition : Sheena Knowles/Rod Clement.

    Harper Collins Australia July 2026 ISBN: 9781460769591 ISBN-10: 1460769597 RRP: $24.99 Yes indeed, another anniversary edition that makes me think OH MY! it’s been that long I’ve been a librarian!! And another book that so many of us have read dozens of times, now coming to an entirely new audience and generation. With it’s absolutely perfect rhyme…

  • The Adventures of Squidape – John Stanton

    Riveted Press Simon & Schuster July 2026 ISBN13: 9781923676046 LIST PRICE: AU$ 17.99 / NZ$ 19.99 When you read a debut novel that is not only hugely enjoyable but written by a fellow school librarian – it’s YAYYY!! This one is (strange as it may seem still) one of the several read in the past…

  • Animalia: 40th Anniversary – Graeme Base

    Penguin Australia September 2026 It’s a big year for anniversary editions – it seems so many have come along in 2026 – but I doubt there will be any bigger, bolder, bluer or shinier than this absolutely glorious foiled collector’s edition of Animalia. Forty years old!!! What the…?? I can hardly believe it and it…

  • The Lost Island – Samantha Wheeler. Illustrated by Anke Noack.

    UQP August 2026 ISBN: 9780702271182 RRP: $17.99 We can always depend on Samantha Wheeler, on of our local authors, to deliver an engaging and thoughtful middle grade novel. Her ability to create characters to whom readers gravitate and put them into situations that enable those readers to explore emotions, attitudes and problem-solving has been amply…