Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Being a Cat: a tail of curiosity – Maria Gianferrari. Pictures by Pete Oswald

    Harper Collins Australia August 2023 It seems that for most people it’s either one or the other. Cats or Dogs (always one of my most popular weekly ‘This or That’ votes in my libraries!) For me, it’s cats. I’ve owned dogs and loved dogs but I find it hard to live without a cat. Although,…

  • Pepper Masalah and the Temple of Cats – Rosanne Hawke. Illustrated by Jasmine Berry.

    Wombat Books July 2023 ISBN 9781761111143 Author Hawke, Rosanne; Berry, Jasmine Publisher Wombat Books This is the second in this series, with another due out in November. It is definitely pitched at your newly independent readers, and certainly deals with an interesting plot idea. Zamir (Zam) lives on a farm in Australia with his family…

  • Queen Narelle – Sally Murphy. Illustrated by Simon O’Carrigan.

    Walker Books June 2023 ISBN13: 9781760655334 Australia RRP:$16.99 New Zealand RRP:$18.99 Although I have often noted that the kiddos in my libraries are not all that taken with stories in verse, the one exception, always, is Sally Murphy’s books. These have invariably been on a constant rotation in our circulation stats. Clearly, this delightful new…

  • The Lorikeet Tree – Paul Jennings

    Allen & Unwin January 2023 ISBN:9781761180095 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children The Master returns, proving yet again that he can still enthral readers of all ages with the most marvellous narratives. It would seem that being almost an octogenarian is no bar whatsoever to remaining a writer as brilliant as the titular birds in…

  • That Cat – Jacqueline Harvey. Illustrated by Kate Isobel Scott.

    Penguin Australia 1 March 2022 ISBN: 9781761040702 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $19.99 When the delightful Jacqueline came to my place last year (dinner, lots of talk and loads of laughs!) she told me about her first picture book which was on its way. How excitement!! And really no surprise regarding the subject matter – given her great affection for…

  • Bath Time: Kitty is Not a Cat – Bogan Entertainment Solutions/ Jess Black

    Hachette OCT 27, 2020 | 9780734419798 | RRP $9.99 5 Minutes with Jess Black The TV show that has enchanted young viewers continues to draw them in further with the books that are just perfect for newly independent readers. Kitty has a very bad cough so of course her cat family all try to help, with varying suggestions none…

  • Nala’s World: One man, his rescue cat and a bike ride around the globe – Dean Nicholson

    Hachette Australia SEP 29, 2020 | 9781529327991 | RRP $32.99 When Dean Nicholson set off on his cycling journey around the world he had little idea that his epic trip and his life would become an Instagram sensation after he picked up a tiny stray kitten in a remote area of the mountains between Montenegro and Bosnia. Thirty-year-old Dean…

  • Catvinkle and the Missing Tulips – Elliot Perlman

    Penguin Australia 29 September 2020 ISBN: 9781760894382 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $19.99 If you, like me, loved the first Catvinkle book and couldn’t wait to share it with your kiddos, you will also love this new hilarious episode with all the crazy animal characters of the first plus some equally quirky new ones! Catvinkle and Ula love their human children…

  • Kitty is not a Cat – Jess Black/Bogan Entertainment Solutions

    Hachette Lights Out JUL 28, 2020 | 9780734419750 | RRP $9.99 Teddy’s Bear JUL 28, 2020 | 9780734419774 | RRP $9.99 I no longer have a little person to watch such shows but by all accounts Kitty is not a Cat is a hugely successful animated series. A rather motley clowder of cats live together in a ramshackle old mansion, left to them…

  • The Astronaut’s Cat – Tohby Riddle

    Allen & Unwin March 2020 ISBN 9781760524944 RRP: $24.99 Tohby Riddle comments that he could not have predicted just how apt  his new book would be given our current circumstances but it really is going to be a perfect story to share and discuss with your readers. Given how many cats have come and gone…