Being Frank

Frank believes honesty is the best policy — and he is not wrong, just exhausting. His blunt assessments of everyone's cooking, singing, and appearance are genuinely funny, and Kirkus called it 'frankly fun' with good reason. The real heart of the book is his grandfather Ernest, who explains that truth needs a little more sugar and a little less pepper. Publishers Weekly praised the pacing and the laughs, and award nominations from Kansas, North Carolina, and the AAUW back that up. The honest caveat is that the moral is spelled out plainly at the end — there is not much ambiguity left for kids to sit with. For character-education purposes in home or classroom use, that clarity is actually an asset. A fun, warm debut.