Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Legend of Jessie Hickman – Mark Greenwood/Frané Lessac

    NLA 9781922507853/1 October 2025/AUD$24.99, NZD$29.99 If you believe in legends … I would venture to say that not many people know about Jessie Hickman. In fact, despite my long interest in Australian bushrangers, I probably wouldn’t either except for the fact of having spent a reasonable amount of time in the proximity of Jessie’s one-time…

  • Dianne Wolfer – Double Delight.

    Dianne’s talent as a writer is undeniable and her ability to write prose fiction, narrative non-fiction and picture books with equal ease sets her apart. Here are the two latest examples of her outstanding ability to capture the essence of a story as well as place and time, both of these reverbrating with a true…

  • The Big Book of Australian Nursery Rhymes – Frané Lessac

    Walker Books Australia March 2024 ISBN13:9781760655099 Australia RRP:$26.99 New Zealand RRP:$28.99 Frané once again brings her extraordinary talent to a new picture book that epitomises joy in our Australian wildlife and landscapes, this time for the very smallest of Smalls. For those of us with long experience in literacy and teaching, we know that exposing…

  • Our Country: Where History Happened – Mark Greenwood/Frane Lessac

    Walker Books Australia September 2023 ISBN13:9781760653576 Australia RRP:$26.99 New Zealand RRP:$28.99 This is the second in this stunning series from talented couple Mark Greenwood & Frane Lessac. I have previously reviewed the first (twice! hardback and paperback!) Ancient Wonders and I know that many people took that first title to their hearts. In this new…

  • Ancient Wonders – Mark Greenwood/Frané Lessac

    Walker Books August 2023 ISBN13:9781760658083 Australia RRP:$16.99 New Zealand RRP:$18.99 Now in paperback, this is the first in the Our Country Series by this very talented couple (both of whom I’ve had the pleasure of meeting). I have no doubt you would be well acquainted by the many outstanding collaborations Mark and Frané have produced, and…

  • Our Country: Ancient Wonders – Mark Greenwood/Frané Lessac

    Walker Books February 2022 ISBN: 9781760652241Imprint: Walker Books AustraliaAustralian RRP: $26.99New Zealand RRP: $28.99 What a talented partnership this couple is and how grateful am I that I’ve had the opportunity to meet and talk with them both, as well as see them present. Now this first in a new series from the always remarkable Walker house will be…

  • Under the Milky Way – Frané Lessac

    Walker Books Australia January 2020 ISBN: 9781536200959 Imprint: Candlewick Australian RRP: $24.99 New Zealand RRP: $27.99   I had the very great pleasure of meeting Frané at the 2019 Voices on the Coast Literature Festival (thank you again for the lovely sketch of Duffy!) and she is such a wonderful and warm, not to mention talented creator. While…