Being Frank by Donna W. Earnhardt
Publisher: Flashlight Press
Genre: Childrens, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (32 pages)
Age Recommendation: 6+
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Frank follows the motto, “Honesty is the best policy.” He tells the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Frank never lies to his schoolmates, he always tells the truth to adults, and he’s always honest with police officers. The balancing act of finding tact, that fine line between telling the truth and telling too much truth, is the main theme of this story, and it’s very funny—although not necessarily to his friend Dotti whose freckles remind Frank of the Big Dipper, or to the teacher who hears that her breath smells like onions, or to the principal who is told that his toupee looks like a weasel. No one is quite as impressed with Frank’s honesty as he thinks they should be. He is sweet and straightforward, and, well, very frank, but with everyone annoyed at him, Frank is now honestly unhappy. He decides to visit his confidante and pal, Grandpa Ernest, who has a history of frankness himself. With a few lessons from Grandpa, Frank begins to understand that the truth is important, but so is not being hurtful. With amusing characters and expressive artwork, this story tells the powerful message of finding the good in everything—a lesson that sends compassion and understanding to take the place of rudeness in the complex concept of truth.

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Frank was such a likeable kid. Even though he said hurtful things at the beginning of this tale, his intentions were never to make anyone sad. In fact, he was horrified at the thought that he’d accidentally done exactly that! Figuring that out in one of the earliest scenes was all it took for me to start rooting for him to find more gentle ways to express his opinions about other people. His heart was in the right place, so I looked forward to finding out if he’d be able to make the changes he needed in order for other people to understand what he was trying to say to them.

I would have liked to see Frank’s grandfather spend a little more time explaining the difference between being tactful and lying to someone. As an adult, I totally understood exactly what he was getting at, but I do think that this age group would benefit from a more straightforward explanation of this topic. It’s an important one, and I would have chosen a perfect rating if this character had been given a few more lines to show kids how to talk about something they didn’t like without offending anyone.

With that being said, the ending was really well done. I liked the reactions that Frank’s friends and neighbors had once they realized he was trying a new way of communicating with them. Without giving away any plot twists, they were also great role models for how to behave when someone says something that you’re not entirely sure how to respond to at first.

Being Frank should be read by anyone who has ever accidentally put their foot in their mouth and said something they later regretted.