Edie lives with her mum—it’s just the two of them. Her best friend, Bowie, lives right next door, until Bowie moves to the country.

Edie feels alone and forgotten, but she soon meets Aleki, and she’s happy to have a new friend. Aleki has a big family with lots going on all the time. Edie wishes she had a big, interesting family too.

So she invents a story—a lie.

It’s only a small story, but it soon grows, and it lands her in trouble. Suddenly Edie is lonelier than ever.

But then she finds a mysterious letter in an old book. It’s written in Polish, the language of her dad’s family, and Edie discovers she has a famous great aunt who lived a remarkable life with wild animals in a forest in Poland. Edie is proud of her Polish heritage, and she wants to tell her classmates about her amazing auntie.

But, after her lie, will anyone believe her?

Edie Tells a Lie is a heartfelt story about friendship and family, loneliness, and the consequences of making a mistake.

Ingrid Laguna is an award-winning author and educator. Her books include Songbird, Sunflower, Serenade for a Small Family, Bailey Finch Takes a Stand, which was awarded best chapter book and overall primary resource winner in the 2022 Educational Publishing Awards, and Kit and Arlo Find a Way, which won the same awards in 2023. Her writing has featured in various publications, including the Monthly, the Age and AEU Magazine. She regularly presents to teachers and students at schools, libraries, festivals and conferences.

‘A gentle story about starting over, making friends and finding a place in the world…A worthy addition to school libraries.’ Magpies on Songbird

‘A big-hearted novel…Full of hope and humour.’ Books+Publishing on Sunflower