Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • In Plain Sight: Friday Barnes #13 – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia It was quite synchronistic to get #13 Friday Barnes arriving on Friday 13th, I thought! And, needless to say, I promptly gobbled it up over two nights with much snickering and snort laughing [No R. A. Spratt is ever read without the snaughling!]. The Friday romp continues with our intrepid but ‘special’ detective,…

  • Epically Good Greek Myths – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia March 2025 ISBN: 9781761349751 RRP: $16.99 Nerdy kid me has always been fascinated with the ancient civilisations: as a primary schooler requesting books on the big three of Egypt, Rome and Greece and acing my project on 6 chosen civilisations, to a highschooler crushing on my Ancient History teacher [not even young, almost as…

  • Nanny Piggins and the Origin Story – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia October 2024 My deep admiration for Nanny Piggins has never been a secret but, like so many, what did I really know about her? Of course, I know she’s the epitome of glamour, [forget Miss Piggy, who really was such a try-hard], NP is the real deal when it comes to glitz and…

  • Real Stories with Random Writers

    A few weeks ago I had the absolute pleasure of being invited to be the first librarian on this hugely popular and terrific podcast with friends, Jacqueline Harvey, R. A. Spratt and Tim Harris. It was loads of fun and I’m very lucky. Check it out here and have a laugh with us.

  • From the Archives: The Nanny Piggins Guide to Conquering Christmas – R. A. Spratt

    Just over a week ago The Kid and I tootled into the city to see R. A. Spratt’s highly entertaining Christmas Stories. Naturally, Nanny Piggins was a feature – but also Friday Barnes. It was a lot of fun and it was clear that so many of the kiddos present were thrilled to be meeting…

  • Bedtime Stories – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia August 2023 It is a well-known fact in my circle, that R. A. Spratt habitually makes me snort-laugh. So I really had to prepare myself (and The Kid) for random outbursts of bizarre guffawing as I enjoyed my way through this gargantuan offering. There is something to please everyone here. Although, for me,…

  • Hamlet is Not OK – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia July 2023 No one will be surprised to hear that after reading a couple of chapters before I went to sleep last night, I gobbled the rest up in one sitting today – and loved every single word! It’s not Friday Barnes, nor Nanny Piggins but Spratt’s sass and sarcasm, her unerring sense…

  • Friday Barnes 11: Last Chance – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia Oh Friday, you just get betterer and betterer! Readers will remember my anecdote of the dismay felt by my coterie of Friday fans, when the ‘last’ in the (original) series was announced, and was confirmed by my (then) recent conversation with Rachel over afternoon tea. Subsequently – and by then in a different…

  • Astonishingly Good Stories – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia August 2022 Now with a day off at my disposal, due to having no voice left with which to teach, I am trying to catch up with reviews, and really it is dead lucky I had already read this latest volume, because there is no doubt that strenuous laughing of the Spratt-induced kind…

  • Friday Barnes #10: Undercover – R. A. Spratt

    Penguin Australia February 2022 ISBN: 9781761043659 Imprint: Puffin RRP: $15.99 Some readers of this blog may recall my review of the ‘re-appearance’ of Friday and her cronies. My kiddos at school lost their minds when it hit the shelves so make sure you stand back again because the rush will be on. Now that Friday et al are…