Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Shadowghast – Thomas Taylor

    Walker Books Australia September 2021 ISBN: 9781406386301Imprint: WalkerAustralian RRP: $17.99New Zealand RRP: $19.99 It’s back to Eerie-on-Sea for another cracking and creepy mystery. In this new adventure a seriously spooky magician arrives in town, accompanied by henchmen, and purports to be Herbie’s long-lost aunt. She seems to enthrall the boy but his friend and ally, Violet, is far from…

  • The Werewolves who Weren’t – T. C. Shelley

    You can read my review of this fabulous second instalment in this series at Kids Book Review now!

  • Ten Minutes to Bed: …. Rhiannon Fielding/Chris Chatterton

    Penguin Random House Australia There would not be many parents (or grandparents/carers) who haven’t had to coax a small one to bed at some time and if that’s you right now this little series which has been brought to my attention would be a perfect shared read to give that heads up that it’s sleep…

  • Malamander – Thomas Taylor

    Walker Books Australia   ISBN: 9781406386288 May 2019 Australian RRP: $17.99 New Zealand RRP: $19.99 Ok, so I’m a bit slow getting to this one (cue: moving house etc) but it is one not to be missed. Two orphans are brought together in the Grand Nautilus Hotel in a slightly odd town known as Eerie-on-Sea. Herbert Lemon is…

  • Monster Party – The Children from Rawa with Alison Lester & Jane Godwin

    Magabala Books September 2018 ISBN:9781925360554 RRP: $17.99 Described by the publisher as an ‘explosion of fun and pure joy’ this is a delightfully riotous and exuberant picture book full of colour and humour. The Rawa Community School is on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert and the children there helped to write the text…

  • Dragon Apocalypse: City of Monsters #3 – DC Green

    Sep 2018 Ford Street Publishing 9781925272680 AUD$19.95, NZD$24.99   DC, you have completely smashed it with this thrilling conclusion to the trilogy – darker, edgier and gripping!  I’ve watched with such joy as the Dead Gang monster misfits have grown from their funky beginnings to truly kickass warriors united in their mission to save not…

  • Wormwood Mire: A Stella Montgomery Intrigue – Judith Rossell

    Harper Collins ISBN: 9780733333019 ISBN 10: 073333301X Imprint: ABC Books – AU On Sale: 10/24/2016 Pages: 288 List Price: 22.99 AUD Warning: This review will be chockers with fulsome praise and expressions of delight. From the point I took this book from its package two days ago I was in love with it. We know that you can indeed judge a…

  • Fright Club – Ethan Long

    Bloomsbury Publishing Australia Published: 01-09-2016 ISBN: 9781681190433 Imprint: Bloomsbury USA Childrens RRP: $9.99   – This is one of the cutest board books I’ve seen for ages. Forget about sweet and pretty – this one is just in time for Halloween and a fun story for little people. The local Fright Club led by Vladimir…

  • Goblin Mafia Wars [City of Monsters #2] – DC Green

    Ford St Publishing April 2016 ISBN 9781925272208 RRP $18.95 You would think that as a royal hume dude your life would be one of complete luxury not to mention stressfree. Think again! PT (Prince Thomas of Monstro City) and his Dead Gang friends are embroiled even deeper in nasty situations and deadly – or is…

  • The Little Shop of Monsters – R. L. Stine. Illustrated by Marc Brown

    Hachette Australia ISBN:9780316348522 Publication date:25 Aug 2015 Page count:48 Imprint:Little, Brown Young Readers USA RR $14.99 So R. L. Stine drove us all crazy over the past decade or so with endless Goosebumps books – but hey! They got the kids reading didn’t they? Since then his books have moved into an older readership and…