Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Wombat Waiting – Katherine Applegate

    Harper Collins Australia Imprint: Harper Collins UK May 2026 ISBN: 9780008814144 RRP: $17.99 I’ve been following this book’s journey via Katherine’s socials with great interest, knowing full well that it would be another of her totally captivating and heart-warming animal-centric narratives. And that it is. Wombat is a street dog and always has been. She’s…

  • Freddie Jones: The Mystery of the Ghostly Garden – Kate Foster

    Walker Books Australia May 2026 ISBN13:9781760659943 Australia RRP:$17.99 New Zealand RRP:$19.99 I am really loving this new series from Kate Foster, who writes not only entertaining narratives but ones that give us all a much clearer insight into neuro-diversity. Freddie is such a likeable character and his self-awareness, especially using the literary device of first-person…

  • The Prime Minister Problem – Brenton Cullen

    Riveted Press April 2026 Dist: Simon & Schuster ISBN13: 9781764256728 RRP: AU$ 17.99 / NZ$ 19.99 Brenton Cullen’s debut novel is a terrific read for middle-grade. This young man has been a keen writer since childhood and is now making his dream of writing professionally come true. And what a great start this is! It’s…

  • Picture Book Month Bonus: Rory Sparkes and the Elephant in the Room – Hugh Bonneville

    Bloomsbury Australia October 2025 ISBN 9781526685957 Imprint Bloomsbury Children’s Books RRP: $17.99 Most people would know that I’m very wary of books by ‘celebrity’ authors but I am always willing to take a punt when a) I know that it is the person themselves that has written it (or that their collaborator/ghost writer is clearly…

  • A Different Kind of Power: a memoir – Jacinda Ardern

    Penguin Australia First up, I’m going to say a big thank you to Penguin, especially the indefatigable Dot Tonkin, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this. As someone who admired this young woman as a trailblazer, it has been interesting to see her in close-up, so to speak. I think for many…

  • Tiwi in Paris – Glen Farmer Illortaminni

    Thames & Hudson July 2025 ISBN: 9781760764944 RRP: $26.99 The ‘fish out of water’ theme can work in various ways in literature – amusing, poignant, sorrowful, hilarious – it all depends on context doesn’t it? This one, to me, is the ‘innocent abroad’. For many of us who are unaccustomed to travel, the challenge of going…

  • Mim and the Mother Muddle: The Travelling Bookshop # 6 – Katrina Nannestad

    Harper Collins Australia March 2025 Young fans of this delightful series will be excited for this new one, in which we finally get to meet Mim’s mother. The travelling bookshop has arrived in Salzburg, which was not their intended destination, but as usual Flossy, the Clydesdale, knows exactly where they ought to be. And, indeed,…

  • Skippy Blackfeet – Rebecca Fraser. Illustrated by Jennifer Horn.

    Wombat Books March 2025 9781761111662 RRP: $19.99 When you’re in cyclone prep/watch mode as I was a few days ago (at time of writing), you really need to read ‘light’. Whiskers (aka Demon Spawn) who was none too thrilled about being kept completely confined to barracks for fear the wild winds would whisker her right…

  • Summer of Shipwrecks – Shivaun Plozza

    UQP September 2024 ISBN 9780702268373 RRP: $16.99 2024 was, as I’ve said many times, a year for splendid Australian middle-grade novels and this, the latest from Shivaun Plozza is a prime example. That transition between end of primary/start of secondary is a difficult time for many tweens. It’s often a time when long-held friendships unravel…

  • The Daredevil Princess and the Grumpy Giant – Belinda Murrell. Illustrated by Rebecca Crane

    Penguin Australia July 2024 There’s absolutely no doubt about it – Belinda Murrell has certainly hit the sweet spot s with this new series. Unicorns, goblins, and dragons have all delighted her fans so far, and now a seriously annoyed sleep-deprived giant will once again engage Smalls in the adventures of Princess Tillie and Honey…