More True Lies

May 1, 2001
Gr 2-5-Using the same format found in True Lies (Greenwillow, 1997), Shannon presents 18 brief tales drawn from world folklore in which the protagonists obscure the truth by clever manipulations or omissions. In a tale from Trinidad, a man being hauled off to jail in chains insists he only picked up a rope he found on the ground, neglecting to mention that the rope was attached to a cow. In a tale from the Middle East, the aged Mulla Nasrudin applies for a job as gardener, insisting he is as strong as he was 20 years ago, a misleading statement as even then he had been a weakling. For each selection, readers are given an opportunity to untangle the word puzzle before the author presents the solution in a section called "The Whole Truth." The combination of brevity, humor, and accessible language should attract reluctant readers, and teachers could use the book to inspire creative-writing exercises and as a discussion starter for how language can be both used and abused. O'Brien's pen-and-ink illustrations are a whimsical complement to the tales, and Shannon supplies exhaustive source notes for each story.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2001
Gr. 4-6. The spirited successor to " True Lies: "18 Tales for You to Judge (1996) again challenges readers' ability to find "true lies," which Shannon defines as statements that are "technically truthful yet basically a lie." While the idea may sound grimly pedantic, the book is lots of fun. Shannon, who has culled stories from around the world, presents each tale in a few brief paragraphs, then asks the reader to determine, "What's the truth, the whole truth? And where's the lie?" A flip of the page reveals the answer. In one, a man who is accused of stealing insists that he "only picked up a rope." When children turn the page, they discover that the rope was attached to a cow. Other tales revolve around bargaining, buying, and selling. There is even an object lesson in greed. Sophisticated ink line drawings by John O'Brien reinforce the "something's out of whack" theme. Notes on the stories are appended.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)