Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Kevin in a Stew – Jacqueline Harvey. Illustrated by Kate Isobel Scott.

    Penguin Australia All good things come to those who wait: like the box of books from Penguin that mysteriously arrived by camel train (seemingly) eventually ,or a slow-cooker lamb curry – NO!! sorry, that just slipped out by mistake. Do I look like the kind of person who would eat a poor innocent lamb?? [Perhaps…

  • What’s Next Shane? – Maree Coote

    Walker Books Australia Imprint: Melbourne Style Books ISBN13:9780645910605 Australia RRP:$29.99 New Zealand RRP:$34.99 You might remember that just a couple of weeks ago I shared reviews of two different cockatoo books [Sonia definitely remembers! she’s still battling her backyard vandal]. And just like the birds themselves being everywhere, seemingly at one time, along comes another…

  • Hedgehog or Echidna? – Ashleigh Barton and Amandine Thomas

    Hachette July 2025  9780734422682 | RRP $24.99 There are lots of ‘look-alike’ critters in the animal kingdom and your readers will take great delight in this book which looks at many of those. The lively rhyming text will engage them and, of course, enable some prediction as you or they read. And the fruitful discussions that can…

  • It’s a Sean E. Avery Special

    These two books have been languishing in the PBs’ tubs for way too long. But news of Sean’s recent visit to Canberra [so jelly of all my friends there who got to see him] has guilted me into attending to them pronto. And after all, Sean is a thoroughly nice guy it seems. When I…

  • Cocka-two!

    Synchronicity is an odd thing at times, isn’t it? Just as one of my friends [hello, Sonia!] was telling me about her trials and tribulations with a manic cockatoo since moving into her new house, these two books arrived within a couple of days! We laughed – in that bitterly ironic way that one does…

  • Goodnight Glow Worms – Aura Parker

    Penguin Australia May 2025 The adorable glow worms, such a huge hit on their first appearance (2020), are now in a sweet board book format for your Smallest bugs in rugs. Goodnight, Glow Worms shining bright,Time to dim your Glow Worm light.Glow Worms gleaming, beaming round,Can’t switch off and can’t wind down. The delightful rhyming…

  • All the Ways Your Mum will Be There for You – Sarah Ayoub. Kate Moon.

    Harper Collins Well, isn’t this just like picking up a delicious iced donut! Look at those gorgeous colours on the cover art – and shininess as well! And that’s exactly the right sweet vibe for this cute rhyming book that explores all the things mothers do for their offspring. From picnics to roadtrips, reading to…

  • My Mum is the Best – Nic McPickle. Tommy Doyle

    Allen & Unwin Imprint: Albert St Books March 2025 ISBN:9781761181160 RRP: $19.99 This one is a truckload of fun for a Mother’s Day read (or gift!) with a lively text full of rhymes and humour. My mum is a Super Mum, the best I’ve ever known.She loves her trackies and her uggs, her coffee and…

  • Clutterbugs – Maura Pierlot & Maya Bora

    Big Ideas Press January 2025 ISBN: 9780645099829 RRP: $27.99 Maura Pierlot Gifts Us with Clutterbugs Ok, so we’ve never had quite this much mess to clear up but there were plenty of times when my girls were little that I would have welcomed a troop of clutterbugs to help out! Now we live in such…

  • Maisy Big, Maisy Small: a book of rhyming opposites – Lucy Cousins

    Walker Books Australia January 2025 ISBN: 9781529514209 ISBN-10: 1529514207 RRP: $24.99 Of one thing we can be certain, and that is, Maisy never loses her appeal for little (and even bigger) Smalls! This is an updated version of one of Lucy Cousins’ most popular concept books featuring one of our favourite mouse characters. With big, bold colours…