Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Bad Nana #1: Older but Not Wiser – Sophy Henn

    Harper Collins ISBN: 9780008268053 ISBN 10: 0008268053 Imprint: HarperCollins – GB June 2018 RRP $17.99 Newly independent readers who love a giggle are bound to fall in love with Bad Nana and her granddaughter, Jeanie. Of course Bad Nana isn’t really bad – but she is cheeky and unconventional, most definitely mischievous, and certainly the type of granny…

  • Fish Kid and the Lizard Ninja – Kylie Howarth

        Walker Books ISBN: 9781760650810 Imprint: Walker Books Australia: February 1, 2019 Australian RRP: $14.99 New Zealand RRP: $16.99 If you have readers who love a good fun story with a bit of interesting information plus a smattering of a conservation message this will be a huge hit.  The first in a new series Kylie Howarth has set up…

  • Mr Bambuckle’s Remarkables On the Lookout: #3 – Tim Harris

    9780143793144 February 5, 2019 Puffin RRP: $14.99   Even those who have not been privileged enough to sip Himalayan tea with Mr Bambuckle are completely taken with the adventures of his class 12B. The continual struggle to defeat the pressures put upon them by short-sighted school admin individuals and to foster each child blossoming into…

  • Treasure of the Golden Skull: Maudlin Towers #2 – Chris Priestley

    Bloomsbury December 2018 ISBN: 9781408873106 Imprint: Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP : $14.99 AU $16.99 NZ Readers return to the wacky world of Maudlin Towers with Mildew and Sponge as they attempt to save their mouldering school from closure, due to its pecuniary troubles. Ever since the funds for the renovations disappeared in time (see the…

  • Bear in the Woods: Peski Kids #2 – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin 9780143788836 January 8, 2019 Puffin   $!6.99 R. A. Spratt has been entertaining readers hugely for some time now with Nanny Piggins and Friday Barnes and now with her new series The Peski Kids which is every bit as funny and quirky as her others. In this second instalment the Peskis are doing their…

  • Ho! Ho! Ho! There’s a Hippopotamus on Our Roof Eating Christmas Cake – Hazel Edwards/Deborah Niland

      Penguin Australia 9780143790679 October 1, 2018 Picture Puffin RRP $19.99 For almost forty years the Hippopotamus has entertained children with its antics and now there’s a super new Christmas book to kick off another generation of young fans. The family of the house in question are busy preparing for Christmas with many activities with…

  • How to Raise Your Grown Ups (Hubert Horatio #1) – Lauren Child

    Harper Collins October 2018 ISBN: 9780008264086 ISBN 10: 0008264082 Imprint: HarperCollins – GB RRP:  $19.99   Sometimes I surprise myself. When I started reading this two nights ago I got halfway through and thought how enjoyable it is and that it reminds me so much of the marvellous Ronald Searle and his Nigel Molesworth books (albeit with far…

  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid #13 : The Meltdown – Jeff Kinney

    Penguin Random House 9780143309352 October 30, 2018 Puffin RRP: $14.99   There is not much more embarrassing than being an adult of a certain age in public and snort laughing as you read the newest Wimpy Kid book, attracting strange looks from wary observers.  But it does seem to happen to me every time and…

  • The Funny Life of Pets – James Campbell and Rob Jones

    Bloomsbury Australia September 2018 ISBN 9781408889947 Imprint: Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP: $12.99   This book answers all the big questions, like: do sausage dogs eat sausages? Why has my cat done a poo-poo behind my wardrobe? And, how can I persuade my parents to get me a pet? If you have some reluctant readers in…

  • Total Quack Up- Edited by Sally Rippin and Adrian Beck. Illustrated by James Foley

    Penguin Random House 9780143794905 October 15, 2018 Puffin RRP $14.99   Here’s another super choice for the kid who loves humour – and again, very timely with Christmas rushing in upon us.   The cream of our Australian children’s writers have contributed a wealth of funny stories: Deborah Abela, Tristan Bancks, Adrian Beck, Jacqueline Harvey,…