The Truth About Lies, Liars, and Lying is a 33-page independent reading book for kids ages 7-10. It is reading level 4.
The book is colorful, heavily-illustrated, humorous, and informative. I wrote it to help my son and any kid 7-years old and up to grasp the concept of a lie, and explore its nature and consequences in an entertaining format without lecturing, finger pointing, or gloom and doom. The goal is to help the kid make a new step toward critical thinking and the ability to analyze their own and other people's motives and behavior.
We'll briefly look at different types of lies - from white lies, fibs, exaggerations and bluffs to disinformation, cover-ups, half-truths and perjury. We'll ponder over what our conscience is and whether legal things are always moral. We'll establish the four main reasons people lie, and find out where the custom of crossing fingers when lying comes from.
We'll meet some liars from the animal kingdom, and condemn their behavior. If you think blue jays and squirrels are innocent sweet balls of fur and feathers, you are in for a shock. And any kid will agree that a cuckoo belongs behind bars!
We'll also spend a couple pages wondering why kids occasionally lie, offer some helpful ideas, and laugh together at the classic kid lies. We'll make sure we distinguish between lying and pretend play, such as imaginary friends, Santa, and the Tooth Fairy.
Finally we'll spend a lot of pages studying every method under the sun to detect a lie, such as analysing a liar's word choice and body language, and asking the right questions. Sometimes you can help a person confess: We'll learn how!
We'll also look into lie detectors and whether they work. And, since we are on that subject, we'll find out how spies beat polygraph tests.
What else? Pinocchio, of course, and lies in advertising. Also, stories of famous con artists, including the one who sold the Brooklyn Bridge.
We'll also touch on US law: The oath, The Fifth and Sixth Amendments, why people take the Fifth, and what Miranda rights are.
LIke any kid, I fibbed when I was little, but I also felt bad about it, and eventually figured out it was not worth the stress, the effort, and the embarrassment. I hope sharing these bits of information about lies, liars and lying will help our kids embrace the easier way - being consistently and happily honest