Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • Taronga for the Tinies

    Penguin Australia The surge in zoo and animal books is not just for the older readers. Here are some adorable board books for the Smallests in your circle. Taronga: We’re Going to the Zoo: Taronga Conservation Society Australia Cate James March 2025 RRP: $16.99 An outing to the zoo is always exciting with so many animals…

  • Picture Book Month extra!!! Taronga Big Book of Animals – Taronga Conservation Society Australia

    Penguin Australia October 2024 Meet the Four Artists Behind Taronga Zoo’s Big Book of Animals In case you missed my recent reviews of Kristin Darrell’s new junior fiction series featuring all the excitement of Taronga Zoo, you should really pick them up now and pair them with this extraordinarily beautiful encyclopedia of animal facts, showcasing…

  • For the Wild! More Taronga Presents… with Kristin Darell. Illustrations by Laura Wood.

    Penguin Australia November 2024 Imprint: Penguin RRP: $14.99 Back in September I reviewed the first two books in this delighful new series Poo at the Zoo and Party Animals, and now it’s such a joy to present the next two. I’m absolutely loving this series for its cleverly disguised information, the very realistic look at…

  • Taronga Presents series – Kristin Darrell. Illustrations by Laura Wood.

    Penguin Australia September 2024 Brand spanking new this week comes this terrific new series for junior readers who are the animal lovers in your crowd. Having raised mini-Attenborough for half her life and watched her obsession with all creatures great and small (quite literally – at one time she had 34 pets including all the…

  • A Good Heart – Lucy Melo & Sandra Severgnini

    Red Back Publishing April 2024 ISBN: 9781761400247 RRP: $26.99 Just a few weeks ago, I had the absolute pleasure of a lunch with some amazing people including award-winning illustrator Sandra Severgnini, who graciously gifted each of us a copy of this adorable and very special book, which was inspired by the real-life bond between elephant siblings,…

  • How to Move a Zoo: the incredible true story – Kate Simpson and Owen Swan

    Allen & Unwin June 2024 ISBN:9781761180309 Publisher:A&U Children’s Imprint:A & U Children RRP: $24.99 I’m a Sydney girl even though I’ve now lived in Queensland, on and off, for almost forty years, so Taronga Park Zoo and Moore Park are familiar names full of memories of a happy childhood. I was taken to Taronga by…