Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Mud Puddlers – Pamela Rushby

    Walker Books Australia April 2023 ISBN13:9781760655808 Australia RRP:$16.99 New Zealand RRP:$18.99 This ticks all my boxes in one fell swoop and I absolutely loved it. Mudlarking has long been a source of fascination for me and I would truly have loved the opportunity to explore it for myself. Now Pamela Rushby has combined this iconic…

  • Kensy and Max #10: Time’s Up – Jacqueline Harvey

    Penguin Australia Fasten your seatbelts for one last rollercoaster ride with the intrepid twin spies, in their most difficult and worrying adventure/mission yet! When their closest family members begin disappearing – apparently kidnapped – the twins become increasingly isolated and anxious. With no ransom notes or other explanations, the snatching of their relatives seems completely…

  • Neil the Amazing Sea Cucumber – Amelia McInerney & Lucinda Gifford

    Affirm Press April 2023 RRP: $19.99ISBN: 9781922848635 These days The Kid and I have beach days that look like her surfing and me sitting, enjoying the view or reading but in the past, from the time she was toddling, exploring the beaches at low tide was one of our favourite pastimes. We especially loved the…

  • Which Way to Anywhere – Cressida Cowell

    Hachette Australia September 2022 ISBN 9781444969047 | RRP $22.99 Well, if there’s anything more exciting in MG fiction than a new Cressida Cowell title, it’s a new Cressida Cowell series and this one is going to skyrocket I can assure you. K2 O’Hero (yes, he is named after the mountain) would appear, to all intents and purposes,…

  • The Dangerous Business of Being Trilby Moffat – Kate Temple

    Hachette September 2022 ISBN: 9780734420909  RRP: $16.99 This is just utterly fantastic from first page to last. So good that I gobbled it up in just two sittings in fact. Why is it so dangerous being Trilby Misso you may wonder? Well, because she finds herself in a unique position – inheriting the singular role…

  • Plume [#2]: Global Nibbler – Tania McCartney

    May 2022 Hardie Grant, Hardie Grant Explore, RRP $26.99 ISBN: 9781741177671 My friends are all very aware of my penchant for penguins. Surely, they are one of the cutest creatures in the world? Although, if you have ever participated in the penguin spotting research via live stream, you will appreciate that the little darlings are…

  • Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade: Enola Holmes #8 – Nancy Springer

    Allen & Unwin August 2022 ISBN: 9781761066245 Publisher: A&U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $16.99 As we all eagerly anticipate the new forthcoming Netflix adaptation, what better way to feed our love of Enola and her adventures than by reading this newest in the series? (In this house we are both fans of…

  • The Golden Swift – Lev Grossman

    Bloomsbury July 2022 ISBN 9781526647634 Imprint Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP: $14.99 A couple of years back I enthusiastically endorsed The Silver Arrow and I am very pleased to say that this second instalment is equally as enchanting for your middle school readers. A year after they first encounter The Silver Arrow and begin their mission…

  • Spark – M.G. Leonard

    Walker Books September 2022 Imprint:Walker Books ISBN13:9781406389388 Australia RRP:$18.99 New Zealand RRP:$21.99 There is something quintessentially English about a group of children who are into bird-watching I think, especially when combined with all the other great things going on in this series. A diverse cast of characters, an appealing setting where the kids can roam…

  • Miss Penny Dreadful & the Midnight Kittens – Allison Rushby

    Walker Books Australia August 2022 ISBN: 9781760654030 RRP: $15.99 Allison Rushby‘s delightful new book brings together a host of currently popular themes but presented for your lower primary readers. In the vein of Enola Holmes or Rose Ravensthorpe, this tricky mystery combines all the charm of Victorian quirkiness with strong female characters who possess both boldness…