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Many children learn from a young age to tell the truth. They also learn that some lies are necessary in order to survive in a world that paradoxically values truth-telling, but practises deception. This book examines this paradox by considering how deception is often a necessary means of survival for individuals, families, governments, and animals.

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INTRODUCTION: THE BURDEN OF TRUTH PART I: TRUTH, LIES, AND SURVIVAL 1. Unveiling the truth 2. Lies of Necessity 3. The scapegoat PART II: SECRETS AND SECRECY 4. Secrets of State 5. Secret Societies 6. Our Secret Selves PART III: TANGLED WEBS 7. Mendacious Animals 8. Artful Deception Conclusion

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´As Mallan´s discussions demonstrate, in terms of moral takes on the value of truth-telling or lying, children´s fiction is much more versatile than one first might think... Secrets, Lies and Children´s Fiction is, truly, a thought-provoking work.´ - Sanna Lehtonen, University of Jyväskylä, Finland

´Kerry Mallan´s Secrets, Lies and Children´s Fiction is an important study of books that introduce young readers to the complexities of truth. Mallan offers a theoretically informed treatment of the ethical issues relating to how we communicate truthfully and duplicitously in both the private and the public spheres. She takes her theoretical acumen into her close readings of a range of contemporary (and a few more time-honoured) texts for child and young adult readerships. Her choice of texts to scrutinize includes several of the most important recent books by the likes of Brian Selznick, Daniel Handler, Suzanne Collins, and Cory Doctorow. This is a major achievement.´ - Roderick McGillis, Emeritus Professor of English, the University of Calgary, Canada

´Kerry Mallan, in this fascinating addition to Palgrave Macmillan´s Critical approaches to children´s literature series, explores not only the paradox of our searching for truth in fictional stories, but also the very moral conundrum of the essence and social necessity of Truth.´ - New Perspectives on Children´s Literature

´Secrets, Lies and Children´s Fiction opens up promising avenues of inquiry into the status of truth in chidren´s fiction that readers will be eager to explore further.´ - Sarah F. Sahn, Children´s Literature Association Quarterly

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Kerry Mallan is Professor and Director of the Children and Youth Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia. Her previous books include Gender Dilemmas in Children´s Fiction (2009) and New World Orders in Contemporary Children´s Literature: Utopian Transformations (with Clare Bradford, John Stephens, and Robyn McCallum, 2008).

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