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Franklin the Turtle

Franklin miente/ Franklin Fibs

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In order to match his friends' boasts, Franklin the turtle claims that he can swallow seventy-six flies in the blink of an eye, but then he has to prove it.

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

12 people are currently reading
255 people want to read

About the author

Paulette Bourgeois

371 books121 followers
Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bourgeois graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational therapy from the University of Western Ontario in 1974. She was a psychiatric occupational therapist for three years before deciding to focus on her writing. She studied journalism at Carlton University then worked as a reporter for the Ottawa Citizen and CBC Television. She became a freelance journalist in Washington, D.C. contributing pieces to Chatelaine, Canadian Living, Reader's Digest and Maclean's. She returned to Toronto in 1983.

In 2003, she became a Member of the Order of Canada and in 2007, she received an Honourary Doctor of Laws from her alma mater, the University of Western Ontario.

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Community Reviews

5 stars
259 (40%)
4 stars
202 (31%)
3 stars
146 (22%)
2 stars
29 (4%)
1 star
9 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Tym.
1,307 reviews77 followers
April 4, 2022
A really good lesson for young readers with beautiful illustrations.
Profile Image for Martin Steffens.
5 reviews
Read
October 26, 2025
Unfortunately not enough negative repercussions for fibbing to dissuade readers from fibbing in the future, that’s the only thing keeping it from being a 5star

-read with Paul
Profile Image for Emily Mote.
40 reviews2 followers
September 20, 2017
Summary: When Franklin turtle lies to his friends and tells them he can eat 76 flies in the blink of an eye, he immediately regrets it. Each of his friends were able to show off the talent they claimed to have. However, Franklin could not because he had lied. He worried about what to do, but eventually decided to tell his friends the truth.

Teaching Ideas: As a teacher, I would implement this book in my classroom to teach the importance of honesty. This book would be great for lower grades. I could have a mini unit on character traits, and use this when learning about honesty.

Evaluation: I personally love Franklin books. I love this one because it contains a valuable lesson, but also has an interesting story line. The illustrations are also well done.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Manda Marigold.
823 reviews
July 5, 2024
In this book, Franklin lies to his friends and quickly learns that his boastful behavior can put him in difficult situations. Throughout the book, Franklin begins to understand the importance of telling the truth.
Profile Image for Stephanie.
280 reviews14 followers
February 15, 2018
Darling book about lying, conflicted emotions about admitting a lie, and making things right with people you lied to. Franklin is a cute, relatable turtle and the ending is sweet and appropriate.
1 review
December 23, 2020
Good
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jamie Uribe.
266 reviews
April 9, 2023
So nostalgic for me. I loved reafing these as a kid and love it as an adult. I read this book to my son, and he has so much fun reading it. So wholesome.
103 reviews2 followers
July 29, 2023
I adore their little homes, so .. homely and inviting. I'd live there.
Profile Image for Zoey.
531 reviews2 followers
May 29, 2024
A great story about how it is best to tell the truth and share your talents.
Profile Image for Marlaine Legault.
124 reviews
May 12, 2025
The story is about boasting about things you cannot do to impress others. The storyline was not so exciting but the drawings by Brenda Clark were quite nice.
Profile Image for Themountainbookie.
392 reviews14 followers
June 10, 2021
As someone who follows attachment parenting. I really appreciate this book. The parents never tell Franklin what to do but still give loving guidance. How awesome!
23 reviews
March 29, 2015
Franklin is embarrassed that he doesn't have any talents to share with is friends, so he makes one up and tells them he can eat 76 flies in on gulp. Immediately Franklin feels guilty about his decision and tries to find out to solve this issue.

There is obvious didacticism in this book; it is not good to tell lie to your fiends. I like how the book brings in the process of what it feels like to feel guilty for telling a lie or doing something wrong. I also really appreciated that Franklin went to his parents for this issue. A lot of the time we are afraid to tell our parents something, but this book depicts the parents still being there for Franklin even though he made a wrong decision with his friends. In the end, he tells the truth and decides not to lie to his friends again.

Another aspect of the book I found incredibly beautiful are the illustrations. They were very realistic in the way the illustrator drew the animals in the book. However, at times it felt as if Franklin did not fit in with the pictures. He was much brighter than the rest of his friends, and I thought this was an interesting way of drawing attention to Franklin. Although, I was so distracted by how beautiful the illustrations and feel that it added a lot to the quality of the book.
Profile Image for Erik.
36 reviews3 followers
August 26, 2016
Another old-school Franklin book. This one is even better than the previous one (Hurry Up, Franklin). It's probably going to feel a bit weird for people who are more familiar with Franklin's usual style. As typical with the first few books, the characters are drawn realistically, and Franklin is very small compared to the other characters. Surprisingly, Beaver is shown walking on all fours in two of the pictures - something she never did in later books. It's interesting to see how the art has evolved from the early Franklin books to the more modern ones.

The book has a nice message, and it delivers it well without being preachy.
Profile Image for Christina.
557 reviews4 followers
July 7, 2024
This time, Franklin the turtle tells a lie to avoid getting into trouble after accidentally breaking his father's camera. As the lie grows, Franklin finds himself caught in a web of deceit that begins to affect his relationships with his friends and family. Throughout the book, Franklin learns about the consequences of lying and the importance of honesty and taking responsibility for his actions. The story teaches young readers valuable lessons about integrity and the impact of telling the truth.
Profile Image for Lynn  Davidson.
8,198 reviews34 followers
February 26, 2025
Franklin’s friends are all talking about what they can do, and Franklin doesn’t think he does anything special. He doesn’t want to be left out, and forgetting what he can do, he made up something. That fib became super hard to deal with so that he told his parents about his problem. Faced by his friends expecting him to prove what he said, Franklin had a decision to make. Great story and illustrations.
Profile Image for Kest Schwartzman.
Author 1 book12 followers
August 28, 2015
It's a little confusing that all the characters OTHER than Franklin are drawn in a fairly realistic style, and he isn't, but otherwise- pretty cute, story has a moral without being overly preachy, and the characters are all pretty likable.

I like the realism of the message, too. It's not "you shouldn't lie because it is wrong" but rather "you shouldn't lie because you'll embarrass yourself"
Profile Image for D'Anne.
639 reviews19 followers
August 14, 2012
We were in the library and when my son saw this book he yelled, "Franklin!" I had never heard of this character before in my life, but he apparently plays a role in my son's. The book was okay. Moral of the story: don't tell lies to impress your friends. I can get behind that.
Profile Image for Jamie Tedesco.
110 reviews2 followers
February 4, 2014
Not sure it was such a good idea to talk about it being ok to bend the truth. I think there was a good point that was trying to be made, that you can make the best of your mistakes and move forward in a positive way.
Profile Image for Carrie.
241 reviews
March 26, 2010
I didn't like this one as much. I thought it encouraged bending the truth instead of really admitting that what you said was not true.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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