It's Quite True!

Overheard ... misheard ... and passed on … but what comes back is nothing like how it began.

In an era of social media, never before has this simple tale of rumour-mongering been more important.

Starting with a comment a hen made while watching one of her feathers fall to the ground, a rumour begins in a henhouse on one side of the valley. She was overheard but misheard, yet her comment was passed on, which was overheard yet again by others and passed on through the bush telegraph to neighbouring henhouses, growing more exaggerated each time it was retold, until it eventually came back to the henhouse where it all started. Of course, by this time it was nothing like the original comment.

It's Quite True! is a 42-page full colour illustrated children's book about the dangers of telling tales and how those tales can change in the telling. Author Lis Mathiasen retells a classic, much-loved, Hans Christian Andersen children's story, re-imagining it in an Australian setting. The book includes 20 vibrant illustrations by Judith Price to engage the imaginations of children everywhere and draw their attention to the dangers of spreading rumours and telling tales.

Lis Mathiasen was born in Denmark and grew up reading Hans Christian Andersen’s stories. She has lived much of her life in Australia and is committed to social justice and the rights of children, and particularly equity in education. She has taught in schools across Australia and now lives in Perth with her husband.

Judith Price is a West Australian artist and illustrator. The inspiration for the characters in this book was drawn from her own chicken coop in the hills north of Perth, where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

It's Quite True! is published by Crotchet Quaver, publishers of noteworthy books; 42 pages, soft cover.