Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Little Ash series #7 and #8 – Ash Barty and Jasmine McGaughey/Jade Goodwin

    Harper Collins Australia October 2023 Everyone’s favourite tennis superstar, Ash Barty, is back with two new titles in her hugely popular series for newly independent readers. With engaging themes of sport, school, friends and family, these little chapter books have been such a big hit with the kiddos I know, both as read-aloud and read-to-self.…

  • Borderland – Graham Akhurst

    UWA Publishing October 2023 ISBN: 978760802646 RRP: $22.99 This is a really fresh perspective on First Nations YA, and was a hugely enjoyable and gripping read.  Jono and Jenny have known each other all their lives and have just graduated as the inaugural First Nations scholarship students from their private school. Both enrol at Brisbane’s…

  • Nerra Deep Time Traveller: The Broken Rainbow – Tasma Walton & Samantha Campbell

    SCHOLASTIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD October 2023 ISBN: 9781760264567ISBN-10: 1760264563 RRP: $15.99 If you have readers who have been enjoying the Wylah series (and other First Nations contemporary narratives), then this new series is going to be a sure-fire winner. Nerra is a young girl with a strong connection to her culture and Country. She is especially close…

  • The Welcome to Country Handbook: a guide to Indigenous Australia – Professor Marcia Langton

    Hardie Grant June 2023 ISBN: 9781741178227 Publisher: Hardie Grant Explore RRP: $32.99 Professor Langton’s Welcome to Country, now in its 2nd edition, was hailed as a major comprehensive work on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia: culture, customs, history, etiquette, performance and more. Now we have this fantastic companion volume which draws on the information…

  • We Didn’t Think It Through – Gary Lonesborough

    Allen & Unwin July 2023 ISBN: 9781760526931 Publisher: A&U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $19.99 We are all aware of the rise in youth crime – one would have to living in a hermit’s cave not to know about it. And most of us are aware that in some areas, the problem is…

  • NAIDOC Week 2023

    National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of…

  • Custodians: Wylah the Koorie Warrior 2 -Jordan Gould and Richard Pritchard

    Allen & Unwin May 2023 ISBN: 9781761180040 Publisher: A&U Children’s RRP: $15.99 Wylah proved herself in her first adventure, and achieved the near-impossible in uniting the five Guardians, now firmly at her side but her mission continues. She must press on through the Valley of the Spirits, with all its risks and dangers in order…

  • My Little Barlaagany (Sunshine) – Melissa Greenwood

    Harper Collins Australia May 2023 Gumbaynggirr artist Melissa Greenwood has created another beautiful and stylish picture book to add to your collection of First Nations titles. This is a dreamy and gentle bedtime love story between mother and child, country and culture. With a text that is interspersed with words from her own traditional language,…

  • Our Mob – Jacinta Daniher & Taylor Hampton/Seantelle Walsh

    Ford St Publishing May 2023 ISBN: 9781922696236 RRP: $17.99 This is a stunning new picture book for your younger readers that will take them around Australia to visit various mobs on Country and find out a little more about each. Authors, Jacinta and Taylor, are the co-founders of Birrang Cultural Connections, based in Victoria [check…

  • My Dream Time – Ash Barty

    Harper Collins Australia November 2022 Like many others, I am a huge admirer of Ash -though I am no fan of tennis per se. This vibrant young woman has completely captivated the nation with her unfailing professionalism, humility, grace and low-key humour. She has become a stand-out role model for our young people, not only…