"Did you feed and water 'Ol Boss?" Mama calls to Libby. "Yes, Mama," Libby answers as she's heading out the door to play with her friend. Oh, but did she? Mama catches Libby in her lie and now Libby is spending the day on the front porch with plenty of time to think about what Mama said, "Speak the truth and shame the devil." A contrite Libby decides it will be the truth for her from now on. And the truth it is unfortunately for Libby's friends and neighbors. Instead of complimenting her friend Ruthie Mae on her pretty dress, Libby truthfully points out the hole in Ruthie's white sock. But the truth can hurt and as Libby marches truthfully through her day she creates a long line of casualties from her truthful observations. This is a great story for helping young children to understand the nuances of truth and the importance of time and place to avoid a whole bushel of hurt feelings. Told in dialect.
40 pages 978-0689853951 Ages 4-9
Keywords: social skills, truth, getting along, understanding others, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old, African American author, diversity, diverse books
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Libby told a lie and then she learned her lesson about how it feels to tell a lie. So, she decides for her it will only be the truth from now on. In fact she tells a whole lot of truth-maybe too much truth. This is a delightful story about what happens when you tell everyone else's truth-like about the hole in their sock. Libby is going to learn a whole new lesson about how to tell the truth in just the right way.
Recommended by: Barb Langridge, abookandahug.com
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If telling the truth is the right thing to do, why is the whole world mad at Libby?
“Tell the truth and shame the devil,” Libby’s mama has told her. So whatever is Libby doing wrong? Ever since she started telling only the truth, the whole world seems to be mad at her. First it’s her best friend, Ruthie Mae, who gets upset when Libby tells all their friends that Ruthie Mae has a hole in her sock. Then Willie gives her an ugly look when she tells the teacher he hasn’t done his homework. It seems that telling the truth isn’t always so simple.
Children will sympathize with Libby as she struggles to figure out that even though it’s always wrong to tell a lie, there’s a right and a wrong way to tell the truth. Giselle Potter’s naively stubborn illustrations perfectly capture this humorous and poignant story by award-winning author Patricia C. McKissack.--from the publisher
