Zoe Bent isn't very good at sports. Or very good at school. She
doesn't wear the coolest clothes or travel to the coolest places.
In fact, Zoe Bent doesn't think she's very special at all. So Zoe
Bent does the one thing she is good at: telling lies.
Zoe's wild imagination leads her to invent the most unbelievable
stories to impress her classmates. But when one tiny lie soon leads
to another, Zoe gets sick of lying to keep everyone from finding
out her stories aren't true. What's even worse, no one believes her
when she is telling the truth! With the help of her friend, she
realizes that she doesn't need to lie because she does have a
special talent: she has the best imagination in the history of the
3rd grade!
Zoe's exaggerated stories are really entertaining and she is a very
likeable character, aside from the lying. The reader feels the same
frustration as Zoe when no one believes her stories, even when they
are true. The positive message that everyone is special in their
own way is the perfect way to end the book.
Although there are some great illustrations, Liar, Liar, Pants on
Fire is less of a picture book and more of a short novel, possibly
too advanced for Sparks (5-6), but too easy for Guides (9-11). At
less than 100 pages and with large text, it is a short easy read
that is just perfect for Brownie aged girls (7-8).