Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe


  • Save the Gum Trees, Bees and Big Blue Seas – Luke John Matthew Arnold.

    Scholastic Australia ISBN: 9781760264970 ISBN-10: 1760264970 June 2025 RRP: $26.99 It’s big and bold and beautiful and essentially, it’s a call to arms for even the Smalls to step up and be protective of our precious environment. I love that the artwork – and I’m not familiar with this visual artist’s work – is so striking and…

  • When the Mountain Wakes – Matt Shanks

    Affirm Press Simon & Schuster August 2025 Somewhere, towards the beginning of time, a mountain rose from the ocean and came to rest above the clouds.Life sang a lullaby, and the mountain slept for many millions of years.Until one day, when the world became too silent for sleep  If you have a Sophisticated Picture Books…

  • Animals on Country: Let’s look after the animals with Uncle Kuu – Victor Steffensen. Illustrated by Sandra Steffensen.

    Allen & Unwin September 2025 ISBN:9781761181566 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $24.99 Teaching notes available The continuing upswell in First Nations titles is so pleasing and, let’s face it, not before time. As a minority fringe continues to attempt to cause as much division as it can, and certainly global ugliness is on…

  • Curious Kai Asks Why? – Sarah Pye. Sandra Severgnini.

    September 2025ISBN: 978-1-7640657-0-2 (paperback)ISBN: 978-1-7640657-1-9 (ebook) Last year I had the great pleasure of meeting and making friends with both these Sunshine Coast based creators. A more dynamic and engaging pair of personalities you would find hard to meet. Since then I’ve reviewed books from them, followed their adventures (most recently, Sarah’s trip to Galapagos…

  • Nim’s Island – holiday fun on the Sunshine Coast

    From Wendy Orr: ​Nim’s Island showing on the Sunshine Coast on the school holidays. Always nice to see it still bringing fun for kids. I wonder if they know it’s an Australian book and was filmed not far from them? [Hinchinbrook!] Thrilling activity guide for the holidays on the Sunshine Coast Maybe it’s time to…

  • The Bee Squad

    Boosting biodiversity in your neighbourhood – Judy Friedlander New South Books Ferbruary 2025 ISBN: 9781742238227  RRP: $27.99 Last year there were quite a few books come my way with bugs and biodiversity featured. This one is almost a complete wrap-up of them all in a non-fiction package. We know kiddos are enthusiastic about environmental activities.…

  • 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,…

  • Wildlife Wong series – Dr Sarah Pye.

    A while AA Some time ago I enjoyed a wonderful literary lunch hosted by the indefatigable Michelle Nye (when I look it up, I can’t believe it was back in May!! ummmm, excuse me where have those three months gone?!). One of the great pleasures in that was meeting two creators, Sandra Severgnini and amazing…

  • In My Garden – Kate Mayes. Tamsin Ainslie

    ….a children’s picture book about belonging Harper Collins Australia August 2023 It was easy to fall in love with this beautiful book when I only had the galley proofs to look at. Now that I see it in its final form, I find it even more enchanting. It really is a work of art, which…

  • Mother Earth: Poems to celebrate the wonder of nature – Libby Hathorn. Illustrated by Christina Booth.

    Hachette June 2023 9780734421555 | RRP $24.99 |Lothian Children’s Books Synchronicity is often amazing. Earlier this week a colleague was asking for suggestions for poetry for little people, and after much discussion and ideas, I picked this up from my bulging review shelves, and thought- PERFECT! Because the poems contained within are of a wide variety of…