Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Magical Bookshop – Katja Frixe. Illustrated by Florentine Prechtel. Translated by Ruth Ahmedzal Kemp.

    Bloomsbury September 2021 Imprint: OneWorld ISBN: 9781786075666 RRP: $14.99 Such a sweet and happy book this is! Translated from the German with great dexterity while retaining just the right amount of that quirkiness of expression that European children’s books often have, this is just a delight from start to finish. Mrs Owl’s bookshop is full…

  • Pax, Journey Home – Sara Pennypacker

    Harper Collins September 2021 ISBN: 9780008470289 ISBN 10: 0008470286 Imprint: HarperCollins GB List Price: 19.99 AUD When Peter joins the Water Warriors, a group determined to repair the ravages of the war, his primary intention it to work his way back to his old home, although he knows there is nothing left for him there. He desperately tries to…

  • Kensy and Max #8: High Voltage – Jacqueline Harvey

    Penguin Australia September 2021 ISBN: 9781760898557 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $16.99 Get ready for your kiddos to clamour to be the first – and then the next – to borrow Jacqueline Harvey’s newest book in the dynamite Kensy and Max series! This is another knock-out episode in the thrilling adventures of the twins and their family and friends –…

  • Sofa Surfer – Malcolm Duffy

    Harper Collins Australia May 2021 ISBN: 9781786697684 ISBN 10: 1786697688 Imprint: Head Of Zeus – Zehpyr GB RRP $16.99 On any given night in Australia 116,427 Australians are homeless. 27,680 of these are young people aged 12-24 years. Most of the homeless youth aged 12–18 years in 2016 were living in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings (61%) or in supported accommodation for…

  • The Werewolves who Weren’t – T. C. Shelley

    You can read my review of this fabulous second instalment in this series at Kids Book Review now!

  • The Valley of Lost Secrets – Lesley Parr

    Bloomsbury Australia February 2021 ISBN: 9781526620521 Imprint: Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP: $14.99 Omg, I can’t tell you how much I loved this read during the week!! It completely reminds me of two much-loved favourites, Carrie’s War by Nina Bawden and Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian (both of which I own and have re-read many…

  • The StrangeWorlds Travel Agency : The Edge of the Ocean Book #2 – L. D. Lapinski

    Hachette Australia APR 13, 2021 | 9781510105959 | RRP $16.99 Now that Flick is officially a member of the StrangeWorlds Travel Agency, and with one exciting adventure already under her belt, in which she demonstrated some unexpected and remarkable powers, she and Jonathan Mercator are summoned to help another world. This time they are joined by Jonathan’s distant cousin,…

  • The Storm Keepers’ Battle: Storm Keeper Trilogy 3 – Catherine Doyle

    Bloomsbury Australia March 2021 ISBN: 9781526607966 Imprint: Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP: $14.99 I have loved this series from the very start! The premise is so fresh and different, and full of so many wonderful themes, characters and fabulous magic. Fionn and the Arranmore islanders are under siege from the evil Morrigan, her heinous brothers and…

  • The Golden Tower – Belinda Murrell

    Penguin Australia March 2021 ISBN: 9781760897093 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $16.99   Belinda Murrell’s time-slip adventures have always been thrilling and captivating and this new one does not fail to do the same. Sophie is feeling a little down. Though she loves her English grandmother dearly, she’s a little bored with her extended stay while her mum and younger…

  • Kensy and Max #7: Take Down – Jacqueline Harvey

    Penguin Australia March 2 2021 ISBN: 9781760898533 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $16.99 The countdown to Take Down is on! The kiddos are going to be wild with excitement to read this new adventure with the spies-in-training, as they set off for the World STEM championships in exotic Singapore. The team from the Central London Free School are thrilled to…