Does Daniel Wilmott Tell Lies?  Juliet Martin  Ill. David Johnstone

 

Does Daniel Wilmott Tell Lies?

Juliet Martin  Ill. David Johnstone
Hazard Press, Christchurch (1991)
Picture Book, 34 pages, Paperback
ISBN 0 908790 23 6

 

Daniel’s friends looked at each other, heaved their shoulders and shouted, ‘Daniel Wilmott. You tell lies!’

 But does Daniel tell lies? This classic New Zealand picture book lets readers answer that question as Daniel keeps his friends guessing.  On a country walk, Daniel’s friends, Elliott, Alice and Nancy, join him outside an isolated house Daniel tells him that the empty, run-down building belongs to his Aunt Johanna.

‘Where’s she gone?’ they ask.

‘W..e..e..l,’ said Daniel, tilting his head, squinting his eyes and crossing his fingers, ‘She’s gone to the moon and she’s late coming back because … they tied her up with green string.’

Every time the four walk past the empty house, Daniel is asked the same question.

‘Where’s your aunt today, Daniel?’

Juliet Martin’s writing neatly captures the suspicious mood of Daniel’s friends and their cheerful repetition of their accusation. ‘Daniel Wilmott. You tell lies!’

 Daniel’s answers always have some plausible detail. Aunt Johanna is late getting back from underground exploration because somebody burgled her torch batteries. She’s late getting back from the jungle because she was chased up a banana tree. She’s late getting back from the desert because they made her join a camel train.

Finally, the day comes when the children see that the house has been put to rights, the lawn has been mowed and the chimneys repaired.

‘GREAT!’ cried Daniel, ‘My Aunt Johanna must be back.’ And he vanishes into the house.

 David Johnson’s colour illustrations bring the four children to life, from Daniel crossing his fingers to Elliott picking his nose. While they wait for Daniel, they swing on the gate, a wonderfully realistic reminder of kiwi kids just mucking about.

Then comes the surprise ending. Daniel emerges with gifts from Aunt Johanna: ‘some green string, a dead torch, a ripe banana and a picture of a camel.'

The final page of the text offers the only possibly comment:

                                                 ?

 

 

Note: In 2026 a picture book, Lillian and Lionel, written by the late Juliet Martin and illustrated by David Johnstone, was published by Quentin Wilson Publishing.

 Trevor Agnew 

30 May 2026 [Review 3840]

Lillian and Lionel  Juliet Martin                  David Johnstone
 

Lillian and Lionel                                     

Juliet Martin
Illustrator: David Johnstone
Quentin Wilson Publishing
Picture book, 32 pages (2026)
Paperback
ISBN 978 1 991354 07 5

 

‘Lillian looked out at the stars and dreamed of years to come,

when she would be a lion-trainer and Lionel a lion.’

 

It is a delight to welcome one more story from the talented pairing who brought us the beloved New Zealand classic Does Daniel Wilmott Tell Lies? (1991).  Lillian and Lionel is a gentle fable with a sting in its tail.

 

Lillian is an idealistic young girl with strong ambitions, not only for herself but also for her cat.

Lionel is Lillian’s cat although he would reject any suggestion of being owned. An independent feline, Lionel’s dream is to do a bit of quiet sleeping in the sun. In fact, Lionel is sound asleep in almost every picture in the book.

 

Juliet Martin’s cheerful tale, told in smoothly-paced verse, has Lillian working hard at turning Lionel into a full-blown, circus-performing lion. She teaches by demonstrating circus-lion behaviour: climbing, frowning, dancing, roaring and creeping.

 

‘Lillian crept a cunning creep, for that’s what lions do,

and then she turned to Lionel to see what he could do.

“Creep! Lionel, creep,” she said. But Lionel would not.’

 

Not only will Lionel not creep; he also will not climb, frown, dance, or roar. The recurring chorus of ‘But Lionel would not’ greets every effort by Lillian, whether she is roaring in the bathtub or leaping from a tree.

Lillian finally concedes defeat but there is a delightfully witty twist at the end of the story.

As Lionel puts it, ‘There’s a future for us two.’’

 

This book’s large format gives David Johnstone a splendid opportunity to portray this battle of wits. Lillian dominates each picture with her enthusiastic portrayals of lion behaviour, flouncing, snarling and frowning with gusto. Even better are Lionel’s displays of feline dumb insolence. When he is not sleeping, he is gazing out at the reader with disdain.

 

The detail in each richly coloured illustration adds to the fun. Lillian’s room is decked with circus posters and she even has a trumpet ready under her bed. Lionel’s dream of mice and cream floats in a thought-bubble above his comatose head. When Lillian bellows, birds rocket up into the sky. Every picture is an exaggerated delight.

 

Lillian and Lionel is a perfect pairing of words and illustrations, ideal for reading aloud - if you can keep Lionel awake.

             

Trevor Agnew 

6 June 2026  [Review 3838]