Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe


  • Dragonkeeper – Carole Wilkinson

    Walker Books December 2024 ISBN13:9781761601446 Australia RRP:$17.99 New Zealand RRP:$19.99 What a series this is and how loved it has been by so many over the years! I loved Dragonkeeper the first time I read it over 20 years ago and have re-read it more than once. When I read and reviewed Bronze Bird Tower…

  • I Am Rebel – Ross Montgomery

    Walker Books Australia June 2024 ISBN13:9781529502909 Australia RRP:$17.99 New Zealand RRP:$19.99 Dog stories are ever popular. We have seen this time and again over the years and this newest one from Ross Montgomery will both move and inspire readers as it narrates the unbreakable bond between young master and loyal doggo. In an imagined dystopian…

  • 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…

  • Socks: a Kid’s Christmas Lament – JD McPherson Anika Orrock

    Walker Books Australia Imprint: Walker Books US October 2024 ISBN13:9781536237023 Australia RRP:$19.99 New Zealand RRP:$24.99 Unsurprisingly, I’d not heard of this American singer/songwriter but apparently he’s a big hit in the world of blues/roots. His Christmas album, Socks, was highly praised by Rolling Stone magazine. Now the lyrics have been presented in a picture book…

  • Mr Santa – Jarvis

    Walker Books Australia October 2024 ISBN13:9781529511574 Australia RRP:$24.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 Yep, we’ve all known those kids who have a seemingly endless supply of questions and this little person has many for Santa, when she catches him delivering gifts. Mr Santa, want to hear me play? Do the reindeer talk? And can I ride your sleigh? When…

  • Merry Christmas, Little Wombat! Charles Fuge

    Walker Books Australia October 2024 ISBN13:9781760655105 Australia RRP:$19.99 New Zealand RRP:$24.99 This is a super-cute book from a well-established author/illustrator with great credentials. I am the first to say I don’t really know his work though I do recognise Little Wombat. I need to say this first and get it out of the way. A…

  • One Wise Sheep – Ulrich Hub. Illustrated by Jörg Mühle

    Walker Books Australia Imprint: Gecko Press ISBN13:9781776575961 Australia RRP:$17.99 New Zealand RRP:$19.99 I read this last night, cosy in bed, and was absolutely giggling all the way through. This is the most hilarious take on the biblical Christmas Story ever, with the entire episode from ‘winged creatures’ appearing with blazing lights to finding an empty…

  • When Santa Got Stuck in a Gum Tree – Jackie Hosking. Nathaniel Eckstrom.

    Walker Books Australia September 2024 ISBN13:9781760657406 Australia RRP:$24.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 What if? always such a good provocation for writing … Plenty of children have wondered what if Santa got stuck in a chimney, but what if he got stuck in a gum tree? Well, how could he be rescued? This could be the start…

  • Sleepy Sheepy and the Sheep-Over! Lucy Ruth Cummins. Illustrated by Pete Oswald

    Walker Books Australia September 2024 ISBN13:9781760658953 Australia RRP:$19.99 New Zealand RRP:$24.99 Strangely enough, I just had a conversation with a friend over lunch this past week about children’s first sleepovers. Her older grandchild has slept over regularly while the little sister was having her first experience this weekend [as I write this 24/11]. I commented…

  • Are You Big? – Mo Willems

    Walker Books Australia September 2024 ISBN13:9781760659905 Australia RRP:$24.99 New Zealand RRP:$27.99 To paraphrase Roy & HG, too much Mo is never enough!! Here’s another one of Mo Willems’ deceptively simple, but loaded with learning books. You can see by the spreads above just how understated it is but conversely, also the immensity of it all.…