The Truth! : David Mortimore Baxter Comes Clean

David Mortimore Baxter has a terrible problem he can't stop lying. His nearly-next-door neighbour thinks David lies so much he must have a medical condition. His mum calls it truth-bending.The trouble is, once you start bending the truth it's really hard to straighten in out again.

"So here's the thing. I didn't want to go to Rose Thornton's house for dinner so I pretended to be sick. But I wasn't sick. And Mum found out. Now Mum's so mad with me she's thought up the worst punishment ever. One more lie and Boris is going to the pet shelter. So that's it. I'm turning over a new leaf. But if Mum hates it when I lie, then she's really going to hate it when I start telling the truth.'

About The Author

Karen Tayleur lives in the hills of the Dandenong Ranges with her husband and two kids who always leave their homework to the last minute. As well as being expert at year seven German and Chinese and holding down a four-day-a-week job, she is a writer.

Her kids have helped her tap back into school-age politics; back to a time when there was always a Rose Thornton ready to rain on everybody's parade. When there was always a school bully, a cranky neighbour and an annoying sibling to contend with.

As a child, Karen was a constant audience for her father's boyhood recollections. His stories have grown larger than life over the years. She's not saying he is a liar. But he has been known to bend the truth.