The Honest-to-Goodness Truth

When Libby is caught in her first lie to her mama, she makes a decision: "From now on, only the truth." Soon she's spreading the truth all over town--about the hole in her friend Ruthie May's sock, and the fact that Thomas didn't have lunch money and needed to borrow some from the teacher, and how old Miz Tusselbury's yard looks like a jungle. By now, no one is talking to Libby. Perplexed and glum, she turns to her mama for another lesson on telling the truth. But it isn't until Libby gets a small spoonful of her own medicine that she really grasps the difference between the right way and the wrong way to tell the truth.

Children know just how difficult it is to find that balance between a lie and the honest-to-goodness truth. Award-winning author Patricia McKissack teams up with acclaimed illustrator Giselle Potter (Gabriella's Song, When Agnes Caws) to create a witty, touching story that will sound quite familiar to anyone who has ever struggled with just this quandary. Potter's unique, naive style is terrifically appealing, with her big-faced, highly expressive characters and gorgeous gouache and gesso colors. (Ages 5 to 10) --Emilie Coulter