Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe


  • The Peach King – Inga Simpson. Illustrated by Tannya Harricks.

    Hachette Australia September 2025 Imprint: Lothian Children’s Books 9780734418517 | RRP $24.99 This is a striking book by all standards. Whether we were personally involved with the tragic infernos of 2019/2020 Black Summer, or not, it was still a disaster that concerned us all. I was on high alert at my cousin’s place in the Blue Mountains…

  • Song of the Golden Hare – Jackie Morris

    Unbound May 2024 ISBN: 9781783528851 RRP: AUD$29.99, NZD$34.99 Distributed by New South Books This is probably one of the most difficult books to categorise I’ve ever read. Is it a picture book? Well,it’s very heavily and beautifully illustrated but I would need to call it an ‘extended’ picture book because it is quite a lengthy…

  • The Midnight Panther – Poonam Mistry

    Allen & Unwin January 2023 ISBN:9781787418929 Publisher:Bonnier Imprint:Templar RRP: $24.99 I think this is the most visually stunning book I’ve seen in a long time. In fact, it is breathtakingly beautiful, and demands close scrutiny of the intricate and rich illustrations. A beautiful fable of identity and self-belief, the little panther is insecure in a…

  • Downtown Sewertown – Tull Suwannakit

    Ford St Publishing March 2023 ISBN: 978192296250 RRP: $17.99 What to do when your home is destroyed? There is nothing, except to take what belongings you can,and try to find a new place to live. The woodland creatures are forced to flee when their homes and woods are flattened for new urban housing. They try…

  • The Beatryce Prophecy – Kate DiCamillo. Illustrated by Sophie Blackall.

    Walker Books Australia October 2021 ISBN: 9781529500899Imprint: WalkerAustralian RRP: $24.99New Zealand RRP: $27.99 It goes without saying that anything Kate writes is superlative, but what I love especially is her ability to create narratives that are so completely different to those by anyone else, as well as her own creative diversity. From the chivalrous Desperaux to the amazing Ulysses,…