Hippos and Honesty Go Hand in Hand

“Eleanor the hippo talked a lot,
Which is good sometimes… but sometimes not.
It’s fine to have a conversation
Full of honest information,
But sadly what she’d sometimes do
Is tell a tale that wasn’t true.”

(Excerpt from Andy McGuire’s Eleanor the Hippo Learns to Tell the Truth)

People, famous and not, have been making observations about truth versus lies for centuries and centuries. Sheryl Louise Moller said, “Tell the truth, tell the truth, tell the truth.” Mark Twain has been quoted as saying, “If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” Andy McGuire, author of Eleanor the Hippo Learns to Tell the Truth, adds his sage observations to the mix with an engaging children’s book teaching kids ages 3 through 8 the benefits of, and reasons to practice, honesty.

Starting out as an editorial assistant in economics textbook publishing, Andy McGuire moved on to the Christian publishing field as a fiction editor. He went on to receive his masters in literature, and shortly thereafter was hired as an editor at Bethany House Publishers, with whom he has been editing fiction ever since. McGuire isn’t entirely sure how he went from editing to writing and illustrating children’s books, but children’s literature was something he’d always wanted to do, even before he had Charlie (three years old) and Jane (ten months old).

Beginning with Rainy Day Games (a book about what games the animals on Noah’s Ark would have played) published in 2008, McGuire has written three more books since then: A Special Fish for Jonah, Remy the Rhino Learns Patience, and his most recent, Eleanor the Hippo Learns to Tell the Truth. Aside from the books’ strong stories, accessible messages, and lovable characters, the beautiful illustrations are also worth mentioning. McGuire illustrates the books himself, using a combination of watercolor paints and colored pencils. The pictures are fresh and full of whimsy, complimenting each story with finesse.

His newest book introduces us to Eleanor, a young hippo who finds she has a real talent for telling tall tales. In her village, she tells all the other animals whoppers about each other. For instance, she states to her peers, “You know that bat named Clark? Can you believe he’s afraid of the dark?” As it turns out, Clark is not afraid of the dark at all, but such a lie hurts him and his reputation, as the other animals view him differently now, having this “information.”

The moral of the story is revealed when Eleanor meets a harmless spider and yelps loudly and publicly in terror, showing the readers and the other animals in the village that she was only making up lies about others to make herself feel and seem better. In the end, Eleanor learns that gossiping hurts people, including herself.

“Unfortunately,” McGuire writes, “we don’t have to teach our children to lie. It seems to be an inborn trait, like throwing temper tantrums in crowded stores and pulling the dog’s tail. But we can and should continue to teach our children that lying is wrong and that someone usually gets hurt. Studies show that the best way to teach children is by a parent’s example. Surprisingly, the second best way is through stories about hippos. Who knew?”

Who knew indeed!

Check out Andy McGuire’s children’s book, Eleanor the Hippo Learns to Tell the Truth at http://www.harvesthousepubl.com/books_giftbook.cfm?productID=6926652. You can also visit McGuire’s Web site to see his other books at www.andy-mcguire.com