Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • My Big Secret – Felice Arena

    Penguin Australia ISBN: 9781761349706 RRP: $19.99 As he well knows, I didn’t have a clue who he was back in the days of Neighbours on TV, given I never watched it, but it makes me very happy to now count Felice Arena among my friendship circle. Not only have I reviewed many of his numerous books…

  • Dylan Alcott: Game On! – Dylan Alcott/Fiona Regan. Illustrated by Nahum Ziersch.

    Harper Collins November 2024 ISBN: 9780733343209 ISBN 10: 0733343201 RRP: $16.99 What an absolute honour it was for me to be asked to write the teaching notes for this book – the first in a series – from sporting legend, disability advocate, radio host, actor, founder of his self-named foundation, film-maker, motivational speaker, Australian of the Year…

  • Superstar: Ash Barty Tennis Camp Diaries #2 – Ash Barty/ Jasmin McGaughey and Jade Goodwin.

    Harper Collins Australia December 2024 ISBN: 9781460762752 ISBN 10: 1460762754 Imprint: HarperCollins AU List Price: 15.99 AUD Your newly independent readers, so proudly on their journey to extended narratives, will have, I hope, already discovered the fun of this series with #1 Doubles Disaster. Now the happy and positive vibe continues with Ash and her friends back at tennis…

  • Howzat Pat series #1 and #2 – Pat Cummins & Dave Hartley. Illustrated by Serena Geddes

    Harper Collins Australia October 2024 I admit that I’m not quite the cricket fan I once was [though, of course, I went to see the Bradman Collection when we were in Adelaide a fortnight ago!] but it was still pretty exciting, and also a lot of fun to write teaching notes for these two titles,…

  • Paris Olympics 2024

    So my great friend and colleague and I had an off-the-cuff conversation today, sparked by a comment elsewhere that connected Greek myths to the Olympics. We thought that even though we would reference the Ancient Olympics and the Greeks, we thought we would be far more inclined to focus on the era of the modern…