Pants on Fire

HELLO, GOODBYE AND A VERY LITTLE LIE, ($16.99, Capstone/Picture Window Books, ages 4-8) written by Christianne C. Jones and illustrated by Christine Battuz, is reviewed by Lindy Michaels of BookStar on Ventura Blvd. in Studio City. (Editor’s Note: This book is one in a series of four Little Boost books helping to teach children valuable life lessons.)

I am not quite sure what kind of animal Larry is… sort of a hippo/horse/rabbit/donkey? What I do know is that Larry is a big, huge liar! He lies about doing his homework. He lies about building a playground. He lies about growing all the vegetables at the market. He lies about eating all the frosting his mother was going to put on a cake she was making.

“Larry, why do you lie so much?” his mother asked.
“I’m not lying,” Larry replied and explained he was “simply creating a fictional story. I’m telling a tall tale. I’m stretching the truth.”

Really? Really? Well,, one day Larry told a cute little girl, whom I can’t figure out what animal she looked like, either, that he could swim all the way across the near-by lake.

“No you can’t,” she said.
“Yes, I can,” insisted Larry.
“Prove it,” she replied.

Oh, oh. Would this end up being the very last lie Larry ever told? HELLO, GOODBYE AND A VERY LITTLE LIE is utterly delightful, with funny, imaginative illustrations. And, of course, with a very, very good moral and a happily ever after. What more could one want from a children’s book? Or… of course, I might just be lying about this entire review. No, no, no, I’m not! I swear. I would never lie to you!

The very versatile Lindy Michaels aims to inspire young minds through children’s literature. Lindy owned L.A.’s first children’s bookshop, OF BOOKS AND SUCH (1972-1987) where she did storytelling, taught drama to children, had art and poetry contests and the like. According to Lindy, “It was truly a ‘land of enchantment.” She also spent years lecturing on realism in children’s literature at colleges in the state. For close to five years Lindy has worked for Studio City Barnes and Noble (BookStar) in the children’s section and does storytelling every Saturday at 10:30 a.m.