Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • 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…

  • It’s Not Summer Without You – Jenny Han

    Book 2 in the Summer I Turned Pretty Series April 2023 ISBN: 9780241636015 Imprint: Penguin RRP: $19.99 Twelve years after its initial release, the second in Jenny Han’s Summer trilogy is the third of her books to be adapted for the screen, and little wonder as these have been some of the hottest books in the secondary library/young…