Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Tweet – Morris Gleitzman

    Penguin Australia April 2024 ISBN: 9781761343742 Imprint: Penguin RRP: $17.99 This arrived last Friday (22/3), and on Sunday I took it with me when we went up the coast for two days of R&R to celebrate The Kid’s birthday. I read 240ish pages the first evening with only a break to head out for the birthday celebration…

  • Ferris – Kate DiCamillo

    Walker Books Australia April 2024 ISBN13:9781760659240 Australia RRP:$19.99 New Zealand RRP:$24.99 I got the ARC of this a week or so ago (27/2 today) and, of course, binged it in one night because – well, it’s Kate and it’s just marvellous, as one would expect. I mean – have you ever read one of Kate’s…

  • Smoke & Mirrors – Barry Jonsberg

    Allen & Unwin January 2024 ISBN: 9781761180750 Publisher: A&U Children’s Imprint: A & U Children RRP: $19.99 Anyone who has ever read a Jonsberg book will know that there is always more, just beneath the surface, and this particular title is especially apt. This was one of my favourite reads in December, and I quickly…

  • Time Travelling with a Tortoise – Ross Welford

    Harper Collins Australia January 2024 ISBN: 9780008544775 ISBN 10: 0008544778 Imprint: HarperCollins GB RRP: $16.99 I have thoroughly enjoyed every single one of Ross Welford’s books that I have read. These adventures are chockful of adventure, humour, heart and a sense of the absurd, and every time I’ve pushed one into a reader’s hands they have come back…

  • The Boy Who Slept Through Christmas – Matt Lucas. Illustrated by Forrest Burdett.

    Harper Collins Australia October 2023 ISBN: 9780008519926 ISBN 10: 0008519927 Imprint: Farshore Fiction GB RRP: $16.99 To be completely honest, when I first got this one I thought – uggh, another “celebrity” book – so many, most disappointing IMO. But with Xmas coming up, I was determined to give it a go to add to my rather scanty…

  • Juniper’s Christmas – Eoin Colfer.

    Harper Collins Australia November 2023 ISBN: 9780008475543 ISBN 10: 0008475547 Imprint: HarperCollins GB RRP: $19.99 It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Eoin (well, me at least) but this one was definitely worth a wait. I absolutely think it’s one of the most original Christmas MG novels I’ve ever read, and I loved every word of it.…

  • Picture Book Month Bonus # 6: Kip of the Mountain – Emma Gourlay

    Harper Collins Australia October 2023 ISBN: 9781922033093 ISBN 10: 192203309X Imprint: HarperCollins AU RRP: $19.99 I really think the first adjective that comes to mind to describe this debut novel is ‘astonishing’, in all aspects. The setting is Cape Town, and, truthfully, I struggle to think of any kids’ books I’ve read with this location – although Nick…

  • Silver Linings – Katrina Nannestad

    Harper Collins Australia ISBN: 9780733342257 ISBN 10: 0733342256 Imprint: ABC Books AU RRP: $19.99 I cannot begin to tell you how impatiently I have waited to post this review. When I was invited to write teaching notes for a new Katrina Nannestad book, I was absolutely thrilled. Then, when I read the manuscript for this beautiful, funny, poignant,…

  • Beginnings and Endings – Jedda Robaard

    Harper Collins Australia August 2023 ISBN: 9780733342400 ISBN 10: 073334240X Imprint: ABC Books AU RRP: $24.99 A couple of years ago, I had the great pleasure of being invited, in my role of teacher-librarian, to deliver a session for the SCBWI Bibliotherapy Symposium. Of course, providing books with specific purpose has been a natural part of my role…

  • Ruby and the Pen – David Lawrence. Illustrated by Cherie Dignam.

    EK Books August 2023 ISBN: 9781922539380 RRP: $16.99 I’m fairly sure that at one time or another, we’ve all wished we had a magic wand to just ‘swish and flick’ to remove any obstacles, problems or annoyances. Somehow, I’d never pictured it as a magic pen though! 12-year-old Ruby is an inveterate cartoon-sketching kid, who…