Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • 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…

  • Piper at the Gates of Dusk – Patrick Ness

    Walker Books Australia April 2026 ISBN13:9781529537581 Australia RRP:$29.99 New Zealand RRP:$32.99 I have never made any secret of the fact that Chaos Walking is my favourite dystopian of all time. And, in fact, Patrick Ness, is definitely in my Top 10 favourite authors as well. So not only was I panting with anticipation waiting on…

  • One Day A True Story of Courage and Survival in the Holocaust – Michael Rosen

    Walker Books February 2025 ISBN13:9781529515985 Australia RRP:$27.99 New Zealand RRP:$29.99 Michael Rosen has long been one of the UK’s most acclaimed authors of children’s books. His range of genres is astonishing from the comic to the serious. And his most serious are those books that pertain to the Holocaust, a subject with which Michael has…

  • Freddie Jones: The Mystery of the Troublesome Trees – Kate Foster

    Walker Books Imprint: Walker Books Australia February 2026 ISBN13:9781760659936 Australia RRP:$17.99 New Zealand RRP:$19.99 Kate Foster has become such a leading light in middle grade novels featuring neuro-diverse characters. In this, she brings her own personal experience, so always there is such authenticity and such wonderful voice. With this new series she hooks into the…

  • Ten-Word Tiny Tales – Joseph Coelho and Friends

    An anthology of brilliantly illustrated tales only ten words long, from former Children’s Laureate Joseph Coelho and friends Walker Books Australia October 2025 ISBN13:9781529502688 Australia RRP:$27.99 New Zealand RRP:$29.99 A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD SELECTIONSHORLISTED FOR THE ENGLISH 4-11 BOOK AWARDS LEICESTERSELECTED AS A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR I am so sorry that…

  • Board Book Bonanza!

    Mr McGee – Pamela Allen Penguin Australia February 2026 Some top-shelf board book editions with a much-loved character plus some fresh new titles for the Smallest Smalls in your circle. First up is that popular chap, Mr McGee whose last book I reviewed in 2024, the year in which Pamela Allen turned 90. How lovely…

  • Small Wonder – Ross Montgomery

    Walker Books September 2025 ISBN13:9781529526127 Australia RRP:$18.99 New Zealand RRP:$21.99 I loved The Chime Seekers and I am Rebel, both of which cemented Ross as an exciting author of adventure/fantasy, so I was very pleased to get this one. What a rousing rollercoaster adventure this one is! Tick has been raised by Grandfather along with…

  • Picture Book Month Bonus; False Versus Facts – Dan Marshall

    Walker Books Australia August 2025 ISBN13:9781760659721 Australia RRP:$19.99 New Zealand RRP:$24.99 This is a terrific fun and fascinating read for your kiddos from around Year 3 to Year 5/6 who like this type of quick grab info books. Each topic covered starts off with a fallacy and then provides 3 actual facts about the subject.…

  • The Susurrus -Genevieve Young-Evans. Cate James

    Walker Books Australia June 2025 ISBN13:9781760657611 Australia RRP:$25.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 Continuing on today’s theme of ‘sky high’, this is not only a good book for teaming with those units of HASS/Science but there is plenty of scope for vocabulary and phonics/phonemic awareness, no matter which program your school is following for that -especially useful…

  • Picture Book Month Bonus: Start with a Teapot: an unexpected guide to the art of drawing – Enric Lax

    Walker Books Australia Imprint: Gecko Press ISBN13:9798765670491 Australia RRP:$29.99 New Zealand RRP:$34.99 Invariably, when I’m with a class and we are about to draw, there is always the one – or more – who say ‘But I can’t draw…’ or ‘I’m terrible at drawing…’. I always tell them that I’m not an artist but I…