Just So Stories

Random Reviews and Ramblings from Redcliffe

  • The Lily in the Snow: Book #3 Miss Lily – Jackie French

    Harper Collins March 2019 ISBN: 9781460753842 ISBN 10: 1460753844 RRP 29.99 AUD We devotees of Miss Lily have been waiting fairly impatiently for her return and I was thrilled when my copy arrived and immediately started immersing myself once more into the world of Sophie, Nigel and Miss Lily. However packing and moving house followed up by three…

  • Dolls of War – Shirley Parenteau

    Walker Books Australia ISBN: 9780763690694 Imprint: Candlewick Release Date: February 1, 2018 Australian RRP: $19.99 New Zealand RRP: $22.99   This is another charming book in the ‘Friendship Dolls’ series. The last one I reviewed examined the narrative from a Japanese girl’s perspective when the American dolls were coming as gifts of friendship to her country.  This one takes another…

  • Flamingo Boy – Michael Morpurgo

    Harper Collins Australia ISBN: 9780008134648 ISBN 10: 0008134642 Imprint: HarperCollins – GB On Sale: 26/02/2018 RRP $19.99 With his expected flair Michael Morpurgo takes some history and transforms it into a fascinating and poignant narrative blending modern day and World War II. Young Vincent is about to take his final exams and is finding it difficult to focus and…

  • The Dollmaker of Krakow – R. M. Romero

      Penguin Random House Sep  2017 | 336 Pages | Middle Grade (8-12) ISBN: 9781406375633 ISBN-10: 1406375632 RRP $24.99  There is war. There is pain. But there is magic and there is hope. I’ve read many books both fictional and non-fiction concerning World War II and particularly the horror of the Holocaust but never have I read one that…

  • I am Sasha – Anita Selzer

    Penguin Random House April 2018 9790143785743 RRP $17.99 Some triumphant recounts of survival against all odds have come out of the horror of the Holocaust. I am always humbled in admiration for those who endured such deprivation, suffering, cruelty and pain with courage and dignity and who rose from the basest of treatment to resume…

  • The Secret Horses of Briar Hill – Megan Shepherd/Levi Penfold

    By Megan Shepherd Illustrated by Levi Pinfold   ISBN: 9781406367584 Imprint: Walker Distributor: Walker Australia-HEDS October 1, 2016 Australian RRP: $19.99 New Zealand RRP: $22.99 Just to continue on my ‘historical’ trail for the day, this is a simply beautiful novel which I read a few months ago and let slip down to the bottom of the pile (thank goodness for holiday…

  • Peter in Peril: Courage and Hope in World War Two – Helen Bate

    Walker Books Australia ISBN: 9781910959572 Imprint: OTTER-BARRY BOOKS September 1, 2016 Australian RRP: $27.99 There is always a need for memoirs or biographical texts in a simpler format for younger students. There is also always a great demand, in my experience, for true stories of bravery especially during times of conflict. The enduring popularity of true stories around…