While I can't fault the artistic design of this book, which has really wonderful illustrations, the actual 'lies' are just that – lies. They're not what we tell our kids. Who has ever said Abe Lincoln used a VR headset, or that frostbite comes from ice-cold wolves? They're lies to the extent that they're meaningless statements. Only a couple of the entries – if you cross your eyes you could end up stuck like that, etc – are real, sensible fibs to pass on through the generations. So this amounts to really easy-on-the-eye claptrap, but claptrap none the less. I dare say the full book says these lies have been crowd-sourced, in the same manner as Fran Krause elsewhere picks up on dreams and weird nightmares people send her, but this doesn't feel quite so valuable an exercise, even if – to repeat – the artwork is superlative.

We all know that there are a few things that our parents told us--lies that were meant to stop our questioning or acting out. This book covers more of those than I ever remember hearing my parents tell me--a coconut tree can sometimes grow owlets? What?! Some of the lies that the book points out are a little scary, like a rabbit finally developing a hunger for flesh--but the majority are hilarious and take a lot of imagination from the parents that provided them.

Along with each lie---maybe we should call it an "explanation" and give our parents the benefit of the doubt, a bright illustration is provided.

Hilarity abounds with this book.

A quirky book that has some beautifully drawn pictures that illustrate the lies perfectly. Some of the lies I had previously been told but some of them were new to me. An easy read that made me laugh and think about some of the lies I'm now telling my grandchildren.

Maybe I just wasn't into it because I've never told my kids any of these lies, nor were they ever told to me as a child. A couple of them made me chuckle but that's it. Maybe someone who grew up with these fibs or use them on their kids would appreciate the humor, but it was lost on me.