Always Tell the Truth

Lessons From the Hundred Acre Wood #15

by Catherine McCafferty

Roo learns that it's never too late to tell the truth.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I told 'em not to touch the [stool]... but they touched it. If they hadn't done what I told 'em not to do, they'd still be alive." - Owl channeling Reservoir Dogs in my imagination.

Roo escapes a bloody death by telling the truth to Owl after a failed attempt to cover up that he broke the stool Owl had specifically asked him not to bounce on. Super cliched, with not nearly enough Pooh.

"I'm hungry. Let's get a [smackerel]." - Pooh channeling Reservoir Dogs in my imagination.

(My Pooh Project: I love Winnie the Pooh, and so does my wife. Having a daughter gave us a chance to indoctrinate her into the cult by buying and reading her every Pooh book we came across. How many is that? I’m going to count them this year by reading and reviewing one every day and seeing which month I finally run out. Track my progress here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... )

[Kimberly · Rating 1 out of 5]

This could have been better done. There were no consequences, realistic or otherwise, for Roo's lies.
I feel... like this promises something to a child that... wouldn't really happen?
The book says that telling the truth is easier than lying. But, is it really?

It almost shows that lying ends up being fine, because everything ends up perfect in spite of it. I don’t know if Roo truly understood why lying was wrong, or why he needed to tell the truth, beyond others saying he needed to?

It had potential.

[Cece · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would read this book to students to teach the lesson of telling the truth instead of trying to cover up mishaps.

[Jesse · Rating 3 out of 5]

At time where our President lies to our faces, blames others for his transgressions, tries to pay off people to hide secrets, and fabricates things sometimes (seemingly) just for the sake of lying, we are increasingly bereft of role models for children. Thankfully, we can find hope in stories like this where a cartoon Kangaroo does the right thing and comes clean in a difficult situation. A Roo/Robin 2020 ticket? It could be a lot worse.