Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Duck Look Who’s Talking! (Duck, #1) – Matt Stanton

    Harper Collins Australia April 2026 Matt Stanton is a king of comedic writing and don’t we know it! And I’m going to be very frank here [no, not Frank – just Los] I really do think the Funny Kid books are great but it was always Duck who was the stand-out for me. Nothing speaks…

  • Oh No! – James Foley

    Penguin Australia Thursday night last I had just the best time at Quick Brown Fox’ Term 2 Reading Between the Wines and quite honestly, I’ve never laughed so much at any of the other RBtW evenings I’ve attended because not only is James Foley as hilarious in real life as his books but paired with…

  • Zac Power to the max!

    Hardie Grant April 2026 Mission Files #4 Mission Files #5 Mission Files #6 I am quite certain I’m not the only one who can say there were times in my libraries when I feared that the Zac Power books would end up in shreds when, as one or more was being returned, there would be…

  • A Great Piratical Rumbustification

    Ok yes, we do know that pirates have been romanticised over the years and we also know that there are pirates in the modern world, including the ones in office politically but there is absolutely no denying that fictional pirates still hold a real fascination for readers both young and old. As it happens, three…

  • Dangerous Days: Frances Bloom #2 – Katrina Nannestad. Illustrated by Marina Zlatanova.

    Harper Collins Australia April 2026 ISBN: 9781460718612 ISBN 10: 1460718615 Imprint: ABC Books AU List Price: 17.99 AUD Madcap Frances Bloom is back in her second adventure to delight your younger readers with some more nonsense and 8-year-old anarchy. Only a week or so after the dreadful Ms Thistle has been carted off to the Harsh Island for Unwanted…

  • Mim and the Frazzled Fruit Farmer: The Travelling Bookshop #7 – Katrina Nannestad. Illustrated by Cheryl Orsini

    Harper Collins Australia February 202 No doubt there will be many young readers who will be sad to know that this is the final chapter in this entertaining series but, dare I say, knowing Katrina’s fertile imagination and creativity there is sure to be something new in the offing. Mim, Zeddy and Nat plus the…

  • Is This a Plum? – Dan & Finn Ojari

    Penguin Australia The first word that springs to mind with this debut book is charming, followed quickly by hilarious! Father and son team but not in the usual sense [thinking of examples like Anthony and Joe Browne] because this father mostly works in theatrical creativity (Aardman Animations) and this son is only 8 years old!…

  • Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveller – Amelia Tait

    Hachette Australia Imprint: Starboard May 5, 2026 | 9781444931983 | RRP $16.99 Well yes, it is another ‘diary’ of a tween title but at least this one really does have a point of difference. Lily Tripp, aged almost 13, has developed an unfortunate ability. Several times now she has spontaneously time-travelled on New Year’s Eve. She’s been in ancient…

  • You can’t help but notice..

    Sometimes there is a slew of similar looking books, or titles, or even narratives or content. We all know there are trends in fashion, food, music, movies and even books – but it does sometimes seem that at times various authors, even across continents, simultaneously get the same thought. Other times it’s just seems to…

  • Gimme Some Space (Book #2 Marvellous Submarine) – Clayton Zane Comber & Conor McCammon

    Harper Collins Australia Imprint: Angus & Robertson February 2026 ISBN: 9781460766811 RRP: $17.99 Clayton and Conor continue with their new insanely bonkers series, this time blasting off into space in the retro-fitted submarine now doubling as a spaceship. Twins, Billy and Poppy, plus their assorted menagerie (using the term loosely) of helpers determine to track down…