Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Mummy Smugglers of Crumblin Castle – Pamela Rushby

    Walker Books Australia July 2020 Illustrated by Nelle May Pierce ISBN: 9781760651930Imprint: Walker Books AustraliaAustralian RRP: $17.99New Zealand RRP: $19.99 When I mentioned that I was reading this Pamela Rushby commented that she had written the sort of book she would have liked to read when she was eleven. She’s also written the sort of book that I would…

  • His Name was Walter – Emily Rodda

    Harper Collins Australia March 2020 ISBN: 9781460756195 ISBN 10: 1460756193 Imprint: HarperCollins – AU List Price: 17.99 AUD Back in October 2018 I had the immense privilege of reviewing Emily Rodda’s new book His Name was Walter and immediately fell in love with it. I promoted it heavily with my kiddos and was very excited to be one of…

  • The Seven Keys – Allison Rushby

    Walker Books Australia July 2019 ISBN: 9781760650797 Australian RRP: $16.99 New Zealand RRP: $18.99   I absolutely loved my first introduction to Flossie Birdwhistle in The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery and was so excited to read her next adventure, though I’ve had to wait a while. Let me say right now, it was worth the wait. Allison Rushby…

  • A Great Escape – Felice Arena

    Penguin Random House 9780143794042 March 2019 Puffin $16.99 I have never been a student of post-war modern history so my knowledge of the Cold War has always been minimal – sketchy even – but, as serendipity would have it, not one but two of my most recent audio ‘reads’ on my daily commute have referenced…

  • Inheritance – Carole Wilkinson

    Walker Books ISBN: 9781760650360 Imprint: Black Dog Books Release Date: September 1, 2018 Australian RRP: $17.99 New Zealand RRP: $19.99 Carole Wilkinson has created a superbly plausible narrative which realistically weaves historic realism from Australia’s past from the perspective of both First Australians and early white settlers putting an ugly side to the beginnings of our modern nation in full…

  • Dogs Galore!

    A handful of doggy books for the canine lovers amongst us all… My Dog Socks – Robyn Osbourne/Sadami Konchi Ford St Publishing ISBN: 9781925272826 (hardcover) 9781925272833 (paperback) Publication date: October 2017 (hardcover) March 2018 (paperback) Price: AUD$24.95 (hardcover) AUD$16.95 (paperback)   Although it has taken me a while to get to this book that does not diminish…

  • Dolls of Hope – Shirley Parenteau

      Walker Books March 2018 ISBN: 9780763677527 Imprint: Candlewick Australian RRP: $19.99 New Zealand RRP: $22.99   A companion book to The Ship of Dolls this continues the little known history of the Friendship Doll project of 1926, this time from the Japanese perspective. Chiyo Tamura has been raised in a very traditional rural Japanese family and has never…

  • The Mulberry Tree – Allison Rushby

      Walker Books ISBN: 9781760650292 Imprint: Walker Books Australia Release Date: July 1, 2018 Australian RRP: $17.99 New Zealand RRP: $19.99   Immy is not well pleased at moving to England from Sydney. Her mother has a new job which carries some prestige, but her father is floundering – his previous career as a GP slaughtered by a tragedy. Their…

  • Fearless Frederic – Felice Arena

    Penguin Australia 9780143786757 April 2, 2018 RRP: $16.99   In 1910 Paris flooded. A ‘once in a century’ possibility saw the Seine rise to over 30 feet above it’s normal level and the citizens of Paris having to adapt to their city in ways they had never experienced.  For many of them this meant actually…

  • Flamingo Boy – Michael Morpurgo

    Harper Collins Australia ISBN: 9780008134648 ISBN 10: 0008134642 Imprint: HarperCollins – GB On Sale: 26/02/2018 RRP $19.99 With his expected flair Michael Morpurgo takes some history and transforms it into a fascinating and poignant narrative blending modern day and World War II. Young Vincent is about to take his final exams and is finding it difficult to focus and…