Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • We Go Way Back – Idan Ben-Barak/Phillip Bunting

    Allen & Unwin August 2021 ISBN:9781760526085 Publisher: A&U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $24.99 Idan Ben-Barak first came to my attention with Do Not Lick This Book, and, like so many others, I found it uproariously funny as well as a brilliant informational text for young readers. Certainly, the kiddos with whom I…

  • It’s Not You, It’s Me – Gabrielle Williams

    Allen & Unwin August 2021 ISBN: 9781760526078P Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $19.99 Yes, that tag line – Freaky Friday meets Pretty Little Liars – really hits the mark. This is one helluva time-travel that not just the life-swap but the cities/continents/decades swap as well! And what a ride it is, especially when there’s…

  • Who Fed Zed? – Amelia McInerney. Illustrated by Adam Nickel

    Allen & Unwin July 2021 ISBN: 9781760524432 Publisher: A&U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $24.99 For my library event of last week, I was required, of course, to complete the paperwork to tick all the boxes and of the 50 children attending, ten had dietary requirements – with nine of those being medical…

  • Story Doctors – Boori Monty Pryor. Illustrated by Rita Sinclair.

    Allen & Unwin July 2021 ISBN:9781760526559 Publishers; A & U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $24.99 Described as both a story and a history this is, to my mind, a richly empowering epic poem which resonates with such heartfelt emotion that it cannot fail to move the reader with its carefully chosen words…

  • How Stella Learned to Talk – Christina Hunger

    Allen & Unwin May 2021 ISBN: 9781760878764 RRP: $32.99 Of course, we have known for years that animals can understand us and some have even been able to communicate with us in simple ways – think Koko and signing. It would be truly presumptuous for humans to imagine that we are the only species capable…

  • Untwisted: the story of my life – Paul Jennings

    Allen & Unwin September 2020 Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $34.99 When I took over the reins of my first school library Paul Jennings was the undisputed king of children’s books and those on our shelves were, in fact, not there very often! To say they were on high rotation through circulation is an understatement…