Eleanor the Hippo Learns to Tell the Truth

About the time my daughter turned four, she started to occasionally lie.  Not about anything big, but a lie is a lie. And lying is wrong.  Though not everyone likes to call it a sin, that is exactly what it is.  In our home we discuss sin as sin, and the worst part is that sin separates us from God...whether my sin or my child's.

When I saw that Andy McGuire had created another book, similar to Remy the Rhino Learns Patience (linked to my review), I was eager to share it with my children.  In this newest story, Eleanor the Hippo Learns to Tell the Truth is just as well-written as Remy, but it's a brand new story!  

In the African Savannah, Eleanor likes to tell stories about all the other animals to make herself look good.  Really, the other animals like to listen to her tales, even though they know they may not all be true.

This all worked to Eleanor's advantage until she made a grave mistake: she told a lie about the king of the jungle!  She told the new zebras, "Our lion is a scaredy-cat..."  Wow!  What a dangerous lie!  Of course, Eleanor had to deal with this, but I won't give it away...it was just too good how her friends found out that she had lied to make herself look good.

I love how Andy McGuire sums it all up at the end.

"The truth had overcome the lies,

Which shouldn't be a big surprise.

Since truth is strong and fibs are weak,

Eventually all lies spring a leak."

The illustrations are dear, as you can see from the cover illustration!  I love the rhyme and the story.  There is no Scripture (or God) reference, but the story is clear that lying is wrong. 

Thank you, Harvest House Publishers for providing this book for review purposes!