Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Do Penguins’ Feet Freeze? The Natural History Museum

    CSIRO Publishing August 2023 ISBN: 9781486317820 RRP: $27.99 Ok, so technically, this is not about penguins per se, following up my last two posts, but given the title it was the obvious choice as next cab off the rank – or penguin off the floe, as the case may be. This is actually one of…

  • The Littlest Penguin – Jedda Robaard. The Penguin Foundation

    and the Phillip Island Penguin Parade Penguin Australia October 2023 Waddling along on a bit of a penguin theme, just look at this absolutely exquisite gem of a book! Follow Littlest Penguin as she is raised by her doting parents, leaves her burrow for the first time, makes friends, and embarks on her grown-up penguin…

  • Friendship Survival Guide[Book #0 Usborne Life Skills] – Caroline Young

    Harper Collins Australia August 2023 It is absolutely true that all kids, younger or older, will have some friendship issue/s at some point. And certainly we try to help them navigate this as best we can in our respective educational or other settings. Which makes books such as this tremendously important to have at hand.…

  • 100 Australian Butterflies, Bees, Beetles & Bugs – Georgia Angus

    Hardie Grant February 2023 ISBN: 9781741177978 Imprint: Hardie Grant Explore RR_: $32.99 Oh, how I wish I’d had this when The Kid was younger and fully into her mini-beasts phase ! (I do miss those days of escaped stick insects and other interesting creatures roaming the house). It is certainly chunky but it is the…

  • My Family Kitchen- Tommy Pham

    Penguin Australia July 2023 Ok, I freely admit it. I’m one of those tragics who loves looking at beautiful cookbooks without necessarily making any of the dishes – but there are exceptions to that. This is truly a very beautiful cookbook with loads of colour pages, with, also, full page colour photographs to accompany each…

  • Wildlife Compendium of the World – Tania McCartney

    Hardie Grant May 2023 ISBN9781741177473 Imprint: Hardie Grant Explore RRP: $32.99 I can safely say without hesitation that Tania’s gorgeous picture books are only surpassed by her utterly glorious non-fiction books. You may disagree – but you’d be wrong in my opinion! I have always loved informational books – yes, I was the nerdy kid…

  • 365 Days of Calm – Becky Goddard-Hill

    Harper Collins Australia April 2023 RRP: $19.99 I probably needed this book – well, the first copy sent to me at least – as the courier delivering it left out on my back verandah, not under cover, while we were away for the weekend – a weekend that ended with one of our biggest summer…

  • Itch! Everything You Didn’t Want to Know About What Makes You Scratch – Anita Sanchez. Illustrated by Gilbert Ford.

    Harper Collins Australia March 2023 We all know that kiddos love the gross and the icky. They love to groan over disgusting details and hurl revolting facts around – particularly at the dinner table, so this book is going to go down a treat. It is surprisingly entertaining and engaging for a grown up reader…