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    The Children's Book Review

    To Tell the Truth

    Luisa LaFleurBy Luisa LaFleur2 Mins Read Ages 9-12
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    By Luisa LaFleur, The Children’s Book Review
    Published: June 22, 2010

    CJ in a Pickle

    by Robert Bauer

    Reading level: Nine to twelve year-olds

    Hardcover: 27 pages

    Publisher: Tate Publishing (August 3, 2010)

    Source of book: Author

    What to expect: Boyhood antics, moral dilemmas

    In C.J. in a Pickle, author Robert Bauer introduces us to C.J., a highly imaginative and cheeky young boy. C.J. comes home from school and his mother notices that something is amiss. C.J. thinks that if he tells the truth he’ll get into bigger trouble than if he tells a creative re-interpretation of the events. C.J.’s mom doesn’t fall for it and despite his best efforts to craft a believable story, he gets sent to his room. He thinks of a few more artful explanations and then an unbelievable thing happens to change his mind, but I won’t give away the ending! Robert Bauer does a good job of tackling the issues of lying and punishment. I remember having the following dilemma: I did something wrong for which I would surely receive punishment if caught. If I lied about it, I might get away with it. But if I got caught, my punishment would be worse because I had lied. Better to tell the truth then, right? Except that more often than not, I tried to lie first. It was a hard lesson to learn, and one that I’m going to have to teach my own children at some point. Books like this one will hopefully help!

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    *Disclosure: Please note that this post may contain affiliate links that share some commission. Rest assured that these will not affect the cost of any products and services promoted here. Our team always provides their authentic opinion in all content published on this site.

    Robert Bauer
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    Luisa LaFleur
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    Luisa LaFleur reviews bilingual books for The Children’s Book Review to help parents choose the best books for their budding linguists. She was born in Argentina, attended school in NYC and speaks three foreign languages–Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. Formerly an editor in NYC, Luisa is currently a stay-at-home mom to two little ones.

    2 Comments

    1. Frieda on July 4, 2010 7:09 am

      Great story…CJ’s excuses are very funny…great for teaching kids about lieing.

      Reply
      • Rob on July 15, 2010 5:07 pm

        Thanks! I hope to write more adventures with CJ. Maybe I can do a series that deals with character traits (honesty, self control, respect, responsibility)

        ~Rob

        Reply
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