MORE TRUE LIES

Shannon follows up True Lies (1997) with more retold anecdotes, drawn from a variety of folk traditions, in which words say more, or less, than they seem to. “ ‘I got a hundred on my math and history tests!’ ” exclaims one child (in other words, two 50s); another insists that she didn’t touch one cookie (though she did touch, and eat, every other one in the jar); a man being led off to jail elicits outrage by claiming that he was arrested just for picking up a rope, somehow neglecting to mention that there was a cow attached to it, and so forth. O’Brien (The Farmer in the Dell, 2000, etc.) adds whimsy with button-eyed figures in diverse dress and settings; Shannon provides explanations on the page following each mini-tale, and appends notes on sources and variants. Here’s grist for storytellers and smooth talkers of any age. (Folktales. 8-12)