Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • How Do I Know if my Body is Upside Down? (and other things my body knows) – Idan Ben-Barak and Zahra Zainal

    Scholastic Australia August 2024 ISBN: 9781761121371 ISBN-10: 1761121375 RRP: $19.99 For those endless questioners, Idan Ben-Barak is heaven sent. He is always able to zone in on exactly what kids want to know about from the small questions to the big ones. And this is another fun book with plenty of answers to those never-ending queries. Focusing…

  • Slug Life- Moesha Kellaway

    Harper Collins Australia ‘Bug’ books, that is books about mini-beasts seem to be very on trend this year and I, for one, am greatly enjoying that. Having had The Kid raising tiny critters such as stick insects in her zoo days, we are pretty chill about our small wildlife. In fact, we both get very…

  • Pollinators Week 2024

    Just in time for Pollinators Week, I have two smashing picture books about the critters who, realistically, feed us. If it wasn’t for their pollination what would grow? Why not see how you can help out our hard workers by visiting the Australian Pollinators Week website? You’ll find heaps of events along with resources like…

  • Christie Williams’ Search and Find: G’Day Australia & Australian Birds

    Five Mile G’day Australia: Search and Find April 2024 9781923091368 RRP: $19.99 Australian Birds: Search and Find 9781923286238 RRP: $24.99 These are some of the prettiest books I’ve seen this year and kids who love some interactivity with their reading will thoroughly enjoy them. Primarily exactly what they say they are – search and find…

  • Into the Ice: Reflections on Antarctica – Alison Lester & Coral Tulloch.

    Allen & Unwin October 2024 ISBN:9781760526061 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $35.00 Honestly, it is a little hard for me to define this sumptuous book, but I am putting in here as a picture book – although, it is patently so much more than that. Really, it is an illustrated journal with these…

  • A Flock of Beautiful Bird Books

    Woodslane Publishing So this parcel of absolutely stunning bird books arrived just as I’d finished this years Bird Count, but that certainly doesn’t mean that they are any less appreciated. These are all not only sensationally and vibrantly beautiful but packed with pithy facts and information about our most iconic birds. Your kiddos who are…

  • Picture Book Month extra!!! Taronga Big Book of Animals – Taronga Conservation Society Australia

    Penguin Australia October 2024 Meet the Four Artists Behind Taronga Zoo’s Big Book of Animals In case you missed my recent reviews of Kristin Darrell’s new junior fiction series featuring all the excitement of Taronga Zoo, you should really pick them up now and pair them with this extraordinarily beautiful encyclopedia of animal facts, showcasing…

  • Are You Big? – Mo Willems

    Walker Books Australia September 2024 ISBN13:9781760659905 Australia RRP:$24.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 To paraphrase Roy & HG, too much Mo is never enough!! Here’s another one of Mo Willems’ deceptively simple, but loaded with learning books. You can see by the spreads above just how understated it is but conversely, also the immensity of it all.…

  • Dog Beach – Julie Murphy. Illustrated by Annie White

    New South Books NLA Publishing November 2024 9781922507709/ AUD$24.99, NZD$29.99 What a happy and full-of-warmth book this is! We know to expect entertaining animal stories from Julie Murphy, and we also know we can count on some information as well. This one does not disappoint. With some lovely rhyming descriptors of the many and varied dogs…

  • The Garden at the End of the World – Cassy Polimeni & Briony Stewart

    UQP April 2024 ISBN: 9780702265693 RRP: $24.99 In one of those weird kind of quirks, I actually got Cassy’s second book before I got the copy of this, her debut title. When I finally got my hands on it, I decided I would save it to showcase during Picture Book Month because it is such…