I laughed so hard while reading this. Honestly, it's a really funny book with fun illustrations. I wouldn't necessarily read this to kids (why expose the lies) but it is perfect for adults, whether you have kids or not!

Sorry this book wasn't for me.
I have never heard of any of the "lies" but did enjoy the artwork.
I was given this book by NetGalley and the publisher. This is my voluntary review.

This book was really just ok for me. Because of the awesome illustrations, I gave it a three-star rating. I'm a mom of two boys, and as I read the book, I found myself unfamiliar with most of the sayings. That was a huge letdown for me. I wanted to laugh at loud as I reminisced about tales my parents and grandparents told me, but I never connected with the book. Do we tell our kids fibs? Sure, we do!

This was an interesting take on the lies that parents tell kids. I was once a kid, and I have a lot of siblings but a majority of these lies were really weird, somewhat scary and I had never heard at all. There were a handful that I recognized but most were very left-field for me.


Each lie comes with text and then a drawing of the lie. The drawings were awesome and very fun, but the lies were so strange. Who tells their kids that spiders eat people? Wouldn't that have the opposite effect of what you are trying to do?... maybe I just need a kid to understand a few of these. They might be satirical too and I just missed that - it is possible.

The illustrations gave this book an extra star for me, otherwise I was not too impressed.

Except for a couple of the 'lies', I've never heard of any of them. To be honest, I like feel some would seem too violent to even say to kids. On the other hand, the illustrations were great!

2.5

This is more a quirky book for adults then a kids book! Some of the lies would really scare children, but humor adults. I found the illustrations MUCH more appealing then the actual "lies." Would make a really cute coffee table book for someone who enjoys weird facts and/or illustrations.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2173626567

The premise of this book is really cute and it had such good potential but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it maybe because I didn't relate to it, I had hopes that it might give me a nostalgic feeling of being a little kid but no it didn't even make me laugh.
But I have to admit the illustrations were really good and might be the only reason for giving it one star. sorry!

Got it from NetGalley for an exchange of an honest review.

Some "nice" lies that parents tell their kids. Some I had heard of before but quite a lot that I hadn't but did have a chuckle to myself as I read them!

This book is funny. It has a lie and then on the next page it has a picture of the lie. The pictures made me laugh so hard.

Brett Wagner has created a book with incredible art work which tells a story in themselves and matches them with sayings our parents warned us with as we were children showing us how dark and wild some of the things we were told really were.

This is a nice book to flick through and laugh at the sayings while admiring the art work, some of which would make a great tattoo! I especially loved the saying about how you should eat your vegetables or they will eat you accompanied with the image of a killer carrot.

Quirky, yes, but not all are funny

Lies We Tell Our Kids by Brett Wagner is a collection of made-up stories that adults tell kids in the hope of scaring the little ones to do what we want them to do. A very short read that can be finished in one sitting. The book brings back childhood memories, of times when we were kids who believed everything adults told us, however fantastical these stories may be.

Only a few of those stories included in the book were familiar to me, and I think the book’s illustrations are more scary than funny, really.

*thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

1.5 stars.
I grew up in New Zealand, and then spend my teens in Australia and that might be why I have only ever heard 2 of these lies. Some of them are so unbelievable, I mean, do the rest of these actually get said? Its not really funny but I can tell the author is trying which is why the images are done in that cartoon style. I do like one of them though. "The moon follows your car because it's tied to the door."
But I wouldnt buy or recommend this.

I like the personification of ordinary things used in daily life and the illustrations are amazing.

Possibly the most random book I have ever read, which of course made it incredibly funny. My personal favorite was the slot!
If you're looking for something fun, quirky and quick with some cool illustrations, then check this one out. It's definitely a great pick for a giggle.

This book had fantastic illustrations however was not what I was expecting and was very short - read in 5 minutes. I personally have not heard of a majority of the lies and it was a bit gruesome in parts! A quirky book that I'm sure will appeal to some people but unfortunately not to me.

This review was written from an advance copy of the book in ebook format. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an amusing if quick read. The pictures are of course the best bits the supposed lies are very odd in my experience but maybe i didn't have a very imaginative mother?
Something for the stocking I would say - a light fun book by a very good artist.

This book is one of those "Santa is not real" moment. It is so funny. I never expected it to be like this. It's a quick reads. I love the arts that accompanied each lies our parents told us. And how ridiculous it sounded now that we're an adult and the drawings made it much more ridiculous.

I was expecting this little book to be full of really sweet and funny anecdotes about the lies people have told their children, along with accompanying child-friendly illustrations.

What I got was a picture of a rabbit messily eating a human finger and a load of 'meh' lies that have presumably been told to children. There's no doubting the talent of the illustrator, but I think that this book missed the mark where it comes to choosing its audience.

1.5 Stars.

I'm not really sure who this book is meant to be for. It didn't seem to be intended for kids or adults in my opinion. A lot of the examples were kind of messed up and I wouldn't tell kids those things. I did sort of like the illustrations though and that's the only reason why this isn't a 1 star book for me. Maybe it just wasn't for me but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone.

* I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This short volume is the perfect gift for your former college roommate who is now a new parent. These delightfully warped lies are wonderfully illustrated. One of the few "traditional" lies in the book is "If you cross your eyes, they will stay that way". These lies may start silly, but sometimes go dark (think rats with two heads and dragons hatching from your shoes to the absurd (George Washington in space). Delightfully zany.