Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe


  • The Tell – Martin Chatterton

    Penguin Australia April 2020 ISBN: 9781760895945 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $16.99 OMG whoahhhh! If you struggle at times to get some of those middle school reluctant readers engaged with a great book (who doesn’t?) this is definitely a ‘must have’! Pure adrenalin pumping action from start to finish, this a narrative that is tense, at times grim but with…

  • Lottie Luna and the Twilight Party (Lottie Luna #2) – Vivian French. Illustrated by Nathan Reed.

    Harper Collins Australia March 2020 ISBN: 9780008343019 ISBN 10: 0008343012 Imprint: HarperCollins – GB List Price: 12.99 AUD We all know two things for certain. Young readers love to see a reflection of their own lives: school, friendship, family and so on and that Vivian French excels in creating engaging and whimsical adventures for her audience. This is Lottie’s…

  • The Good Hawk: (Shadow Skye – Book 1) – Joseph Elliott

    Walker Books Australia February 2020 ISBN: 9781406385854 Imprint: Walker Australian RRP: $16.99 New Zealand RRP: $18.99   Enter a fabulous new adventure-fantasy series that will not just enthral readers with its ‘difference’ being set in a fictional parallel landscape but with its wonderful celebration of another type of difference. Agatha and Jamie are of the Clann-a-Tuath, one of the…

  • The Besties Make a Splash – Felice Arena/Tom Jellett

    Penguin Random House April 2020 ISBN: 9781760890964 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $9.99 The Besties are back for their next little adventure and your little newly independent readers are going to be well pleased about that! Again Felice has taken a familiar event in the lives of many small humans and turned it into a fun and engaging romp with…

  • Freefall:  Kensy & Max #5 –– Jacqueline Harvey

    Published: 3 March 2020 ISBN: 9780143796985 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $16.99   Hold onto your seats for another major adrenalin rush in this new top-notch adventure of twins Kensy and Max, young agents-in-training! In this latest episode there is a continuing thread from the previous book in which a thoroughly evil villain was unmasked. The outwardly charming Dash Chalmers has…

  • The Kid Who Came From Space – Ross Welford

    Harper Collins Australia January 2020 ISBN: 9780008333782 ISBN 10: 0008333785 Imprint: HarperCollins – GB List Price: 14.99 AUD This is the second Ross Welford book I have read and reviewed [The 1, 000 Year Old Boy] and once again I am tremendously impressed in his story-telling which takes something unbelievable and makes it completely feasible. A small village in…

  • Aussie Kids

      Introducing an absolutely fabulous new series for your newly independent/emerging readers that will take them all over Australia to meet a diverse array of characters and visit iconic destinations. Not only will this be the perfect share for those units on Australia for Junior school kiddos but is a superb introduction to diversity, inclusion…

  • Tulip and Brutus – Liz Ledden/Andrew Plant

    Ford St Publishing October 2019 9781925804348 $14.99 This is such a perfect book for going back to school time as small children find themselves in a classroom full of disparate personalities and temperaments – many of them for the first time. Tulip and her ladybird friends live in the flowers and play in the sunshine…

  • The Secrets of Magnolia Moon – Edwina Wyatt. Illustrated by Katherine Quinn

      Walker Books November 1, 2019 ISBN: 9781760651541 Imprint: Walker Books Australia Australian RRP: $19.99 New Zealand RRP: $21.99 The first word that popped into my head whilst reading this was ‘whimsical’ so it was no surprise to read the publisher’s blurb to find that was their choice of descriptor as well. I found myself thinking I could sense…

  • The Besties – Felice Arena and Tom Jellett

      We all know how hungrily those newly independent readers gobble up their favourite series of easy chapter books and we also know that there are times when we struggle to find them the ‘next series’ on which to embark. This super new series from a highly talented pairing is going to tick a lot…