Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • A Great Piratical Rumbustification

    Ok yes, we do know that pirates have been romanticised over the years and we also know that there are pirates in the modern world, including the ones in office politically but there is absolutely no denying that fictional pirates still hold a real fascination for readers both young and old. As it happens, three…

  • May Wrap-up

    I do know I’ve missed a couple but that’s ok……this will do – close enough!

  • Dingoes: Up Close series – Jane Forge

    Wild Dog Books Dist: Simon & Schuster June 2026 In a word – stunning! This is exactly the sort of non-fiction book on Australian animals that we all want to complement our UoI on our fauna but, at the same time, is also perfect for those children who are keen to learn more about animals.…

  • Worl Barna / Sky Creatures: Noongar First Words – Jayden Boundry. Tyrown Waigana.

    Fremantle Press June 2026 ISBN: 9781760995607 RRP: $16.99 I’ve reviewed two others in this delightful series for Smallests: Land Creatures and Water Creatures which some of you may have already seen. If not, really this is a terrific series for introducing jarjums to language, even if it’s not the one from the Country on which they…

  • Narm-Jaap: A Flinders Street Station History – Melissa-Jane Fogarty/Dylan Finney

    Hachette Australia Imprint: Lothian Children’s Books Mar 31, 2026 | 9780734423399 | RRP $24.99 Next in this fantastic series tracing the history of a significant landmark comes this absolutely fabulous book. It is every bit as engaging, informative and stylishly composed as Tubowgule…and moves from Sydney to Melbourne. Once again creators Melissa and Dylan have combined their talents into…

  • Tiny Good Things – Gabrielle Tozer/Sophie Beer

    Harper Collins Australia Imprint: Angus & Robertson March 2026 ISBN: 9781460764978 RRP: $24.99 Two talented creators teaming up with a result of this gorgeous book. It’s sweet and satisfying. I love – LOVE – that the rhyming text has such lovely cadence and, at no point, comes across as contrived or forced, but has a gentle…

  • The Dream Keeper – Anna Walker

    Walker Books Australia May 2026 ISBN13:9781529520682 Australia RRP:$27.99 New Zealand RRP:$29.99 Anna’s books are always a symphony – the most recent I had seen was the beautiful Between last year – but a mere glimpse of the internals of this new one will re-affirm that notion. And this winsome, evocative and almost wordless new title…

  • Wombat Waiting – Katherine Applegate

    Harper Collins Australia Imprint: Harper Collins UK May 2026 ISBN: 9780008814144 RRP: $17.99 I’ve been following this book’s journey via Katherine’s socials with great interest, knowing full well that it would be another of her totally captivating and heart-warming animal-centric narratives. And that it is. Wombat is a street dog and always has been. She’s…

  • Prickles – Phil Cummings & Jennifer Goldsmith

    Scholastic Australia April 2026 ISBN: 9781760266028 ISBN-10: 1760266027 RRP: $26.99 This is just an absolutely delightful (as usual) from Phil Cummings with an assistance dog who doesn’t just assist her human. Prickles is an alley cat. It’s not a great life what with weather and dangers, but it does have good moments like stretching out on windowsills…

  • Dangerous Days: Frances Bloom #2 – Katrina Nannestad. Illustrated by Marina Zlatanova.

    Harper Collins Australia April 2026 ISBN: 9781460718612 ISBN 10: 1460718615 Imprint: ABC Books AU List Price: 17.99 AUD Madcap Frances Bloom is back in her second adventure to delight your younger readers with some more nonsense and 8-year-old anarchy. Only a week or so after the dreadful Ms Thistle has been carted off to the Harsh Island for Unwanted…