Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • What’s the Time Mighty Wolf? – Katrina Germein & Kooky Chooky

    Scholastic Australia September 2026 ISBN 9781761641947 RRP: $19.99 Once again the talented Katrina Germein has switched up a traditional rhyme to create an outrageously fun read for Smalls. It’s full of surprises and especially the ending! The animals are on their way to Wolf’s house for dinner. Wait a minute! Is that REALLY a good…

  • Bert and Billy – Mark Carthew & Shane McG

    Publisher: Leaping Lizards Press (November 10, 2026) ISBN13: 9781764597005 LIST PRICE: AU$ 24.99 / NZ$ 28.99 There’s still a while before this one’s official release but I want to share it now because I know that for many of you, budgets will soon be closed and you do NOT want to miss out on a…

  • The Stolen Bairn – Katrina Macdonald Roe

    Riveted Press Distributed by Simon & Schuster May 2026 ISBN13: 9781764256773 LIST PRICE: AU$ 17.99 / NZ$ 19.99 The gorgeous cover and enticing title bespeak the thoroughly engaging nature of this fantasy faerie tale from newcomer Katrina Macdonald Roe [Fun Fact: while the Macdonald clans, in their variations, are now scattered all over the world,…

  • Medieval Monsters and Other Creatures – Timothy Ide

    Midnight Sun November 2023 ISBN 9781922858177 RRP $34.99 (hbk), When a talented friend sends you a wonderful gift, especially at a time when your spirits are so low, you can’t just accept it and nod your thanks. This technically is not a review but an expression of my real gratitude – as well as my…

  • Axel Scheffler’s Treasury of Fairy Tales

    Scholastic Australia Imprint: Alison Green Books May 2026 ISBN: 9780702333194 ISBN-10: 0702333190 There are some favourites that just get better with age, don’t you agree? And this new hardback edition, beautifully bound with its gorgeous dustjacket [like books of my long-ago youth!] is one of these. As if the charms of Axel’s illustrations are not enough, his…

  • UnBEARable – Kathryn Apel/Beau Wylie

    Scholastic Australia January 2026 ISBN : 978176152884 Imprint : Scholastic Press RRP: $19.99 We love a fractured fairytale – we do, we do!! By ‘we’ I mean those of us who teach – and regularly teach fairytales. And that’s as much a part of secondary literacy as it is primary-based. Traditional tales – in all their guises: fairytale, folk…

  • Lost Evangeline – Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall.

    Walker Books Australia November 2025 ISBN13:9781529525892 Australia RRP:$24.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 As it arrives hard on the heels of the 25th anniversary of Because of Winn-Dixie [one of my all time favourite books!] it is a special treat to review a new Kate book. It arrived yesterday, much to my delight, and, of course, I…

  • The Peach King – Inga Simpson. Illustrated by Tannya Harricks.

    Hachette Australia September 2025 Imprint: Lothian Children’s Books 9780734418517 | RRP $24.99 This is a striking book by all standards. Whether we were personally involved with the tragic infernos of 2019/2020 Black Summer, or not, it was still a disaster that concerned us all. I was on high alert at my cousin’s place in the Blue Mountains…

  • Miss Understood- Kathryn Apel & Beau Wylie

    Scholastic Australia May 2025 Publisher ‏ : ‎ Scholastic Press ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1760978310 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1760978310 Yes, it has taken far too long to get to this one but it’s worth it – and if you haven’t grabbed it, you should! It’s been way too long since I had a fractured fairytale to share…

  • The Ickabog: The bestselling fairytale, now illustrated by Ben Mantle – J. K. Rowling

    Hachette Australia Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers Sep 2025 | 9781510202795 | RRP $22.99 Remember when The Ickabog first came out during the gloom of covid days and all of us HP fans were SO excited! My kiddos were so hyper that I never got my hands on it to read it – though I did admire…