Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Bluey: The Sign

    Penguin Australia Close enough to include it in my picture books, this is the stand-out episode that many kids will have seen, and now they can read it as well. In the cutest graphic novel format, find out what happens when the For Sale goes up in the front yard of the Heelers’ place. Bluey,…

  • R.I.P. Nanny Tobbins – Lucie Stevens

    Harper Collins Australia June 2025 ISBN: 9781460766521 ISBN 10: 1460766520 $16.99 It’s one thing having a strict but kind and fair Nanny who is alive – and quite another when that Nanny is dead. Nine-year-old Albertine is a sweet child, who is without a mother but with a very loving and protective father. He is, in fact,…

  • Brightest Wild – Tania Crampton-Larking

    Hachette Australia January 2025 9780734420657 | RRP $16.99 Imprint: Lothian Children’s Books This is a ‘bright’ start to a writing career for Tania Crampton-Larking, with a whole lot going on in this novel: loss/grief, moving/changes, mixed heritage families, family/changes to family, bullying, climate change, First Nations culture to mention a few. Alex and her mum move from…

  • My Dad’s Gone Away – Andrew Krakouer & Jacqueline Dinan. Illustrated by Paul Seden.

    Magabala Books October 2024 9781922777249 AUD$27.99, NZD$32.99 It’s not just the fact that over 30 years of teaching I’ve encountered and taught many children who had a parent incarcerated, or that The Kid had a best friend who also lived with her grandmother, because Mum was dead and Dad was in jail. But I can…

  • Alex: Through My Eyes – Australian Disaster Zones – Rosanne Hawke, edited by Lynn White

    Allen & Unwin August 2023 ISBN:9781760877002 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $18.99 While we all have the readers who relish the humour, the fantasy and the historical fiction, we equally have those kiddos who want the contemporary realistic fiction which demands thoughtful reflection, inspires resilience and develops a sense of empathy. All of…

  • It’s Not Summer Without You – Jenny Han

    Book 2 in the Summer I Turned Pretty Series April 2023 Twelve years after its initial release, the second in Jenny Han’s Summer trilogy is the third of her books to be adapted for the screen, and little wonder as these have been some of the hottest books in the secondary library/young adult stakes. Belly…

  • Being Jimmy Baxter – Fiona Lloyd

    Penguin Australia This is often a very funny book. This is often a very moving book. I ate it up in one sitting because Jimmy’s story is one that demands to be read. Jimmy is not so good with school stuff, and he has a kind of innocence in his thinking that completely reminds me…

  • The Sideways Orbit of Evie Hart – Samera Kamaleddine

    Harper Collins Australia May 2023 For many tweens the transition from child to teen is a tumultuous time, and Evie Hart is one such who is struggling to feel secure and grounded as so much impacts on her life. Her much-loved stepfather, Lee, is moving out and it’s not just the awful jolt of her…

  • Huda was Here – H. Hayek

    Allen & Unwin ISBN:9781761068430 Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $15.99 This is a really fun read but more than that, it’s a delightful look at family relationships and community interactions. When their dad loses his job as the neighbourhood security guard, Huda and Akeal set out on a campaign of mischief, with the goal of…

  • 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…