There are truths that may not be very credible, so to avoid problems it may be better to resort to a small lie. But if this one is not convincing either, we will have to invent a bigger one: a dirty lie, a rotten lie or a very, very big lie. But the real truth, however implausible it may seem, will sooner or later come to light. 
We adults are used to lecture children telling them that “you must always tell the truth”, but they like to play around with their fantasy and half-truths, and it is not always easy to tell the whole truth. In the game of truths and lies that this album proposes, the author skillfully combines the repertoire of lies to which children tend to resort when they are in a tight spot with a graphic proposal as attractive and full of humor as the story itself.
by Nanen
- Finalist in the International Illustrated Picture Book Competition of the Gran Canary Island Library
“An amusing proposal that plays down not only the importance of false arguments but also the habit of adults of pressuring children to always tell them the facts as they have happened. This habit only restricts their imagination and pushes them to remain silent to avoid disappointing us. Telling the truth is not always easy and sincerity should not be at odds with fantasy and excuses.” – Àngels S. Amorós, Culturamas
“In the game of truths and lies that this picture book proposes, the author combines with great skill the repertoire of lies that children usually resort to when they are in a tight spot with a graphic proposal as attractive and full of humour as the story itself.” – Libros por Doquier
“A couple of minutes away from home are enough for a little girl to transform the everyday scenario into a particular “battlefield”, populated by fantastic characters and varied and surreal excuses born from her imagination to avoid the conflict. As the questions dismantle the protagonist’s alibi, readers find coherence to the story with the unexpected appearance of a character who enables reconciliation. Nanen brings light and colour to those moments in which an adult must ask for accountability in the face of disorder and deal with the children’s fiery inventiveness with which they justify their mischief.” – Canal Lector
“An original book about lies, the capacity for inventiveness and how, however implausible it may seem, the real truth sooner or later comes to light.” – Lupa del Cuento
Takatuka | hc | 44 pp | 220 x 264 mm | 2021 | 4+
Rights sold: German, Korean
[original title: La verdad verdadera]