Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Manslaughter Park -Tirzah Price

    Harper Collins Australia January 2025 I very much enjoyed #2 in this series which I reviewed last year and did also like this one very much. Not quite as much, but that was merely a personal preference. It is just as well-written and engaging but I think tried a little too hard with the whole…

  • Michael Morpurgo’s Tales from Shakespeare

    Harper Collins Australia October 2023 Featuring: Macbeth, illustrated by Dapo AdeolaThe Taming of the Shrew, illustrated by Joelle AvelinoRomeo and Juliet, illustrated by Peter BaileyThe Tempest, illustrated by BarrouxTwelfth Night, illustrated by Ian BeckHenry V, illustrated by Christian BirminghamA Midsummer Night’s Dream, illustrated by Alona MillgramHamlet, illustrated by Tom Clohosy ColeKing Lear, illustrated by Michael…

  • Mary Poppins –  P. L. Travers. Illustrated by Lauren Child

    Harper Collins Australia ISBN: 9780008289362 ISBN 10: 0008289360 November 2018 List Price: 39.99 AUD On a similar note to the previous post about re-invigorating classics for today’s children, what about this absolutely stunning edition of Mary Poppins which will tie in beautifully with the upcoming movie.   Lauren Child’s instantly recognisable style gives this glorious and magical story…

  • The Adventures of Pipi the Pink Monkey – Carlo Collodi. Retold and expanded by  Alessandro Gallenzi and illustrated by Axel Scheffler.

    Bloomsbury Publishing Australia Alma Classics ISBN 9781847495594 RRP $19.99 July 2016   What’s that I hear you ask? Carlo Collodi? You mean the Italian guy who wrote Pinocchio? Yep, that’s the one I mean. And no, I didn’t know he wrote anything else either! By the way, if you have never read the original story…

  • RealReads: All Quiet on the Western Front & The 39 Steps

    I am not sure how others may be using these retold classics from RealReads but they have now published dozens of titles across a wide range of authors and genres, and have sales in excess of 280,000 in many different countries. There is certainly an argument that these condensed retellings with their illustrations, notes and…