Fake Gnus by Leslie Helakoski
Reviewed by Melanie Jackson
For kids, a good breakfast is like a good book: so enjoyable the young eaters/readers don’t realize the healthy benefits they’re getting. With breakfast, this might involve whole wheat or multigrain bread. Since wily Mom slathered the bread with dee-lish blueberry jam, junior doesn’t notice the bread’s nutritional denseness.
Good books similarly disguise nutrients — namely, wisdom. Fun, catchy words and illustrations take hold and dance in a young mind. But there’s a chance the wisdom will also, if more quietly, take hold. That gradually it’ll evolve and grow, and later on help the older mind make discerning decisions.
There’s nothing fake-news about the value of that!
“Fake Gnus is gullibility-proof brain nutrition kids need. And, being fun, it’s all the more potent.”
Nor about the value of the new, clever, timely kids’ picture book Fake Gnus. Author/illustrator Leslie Helakoski uses the homonym of news/gnus in a funny story about fibs versus facts. From the outset, the young reporter protagonist, Scoop Jackson, advises the reader, “A fact is something that can be proven to be true.” He then gestures downward, off-page, to what he’s riding, his “trusty stallion Big Red. Right?”
Wrong. Flip to the next page, and Scoop is actually riding his big red bicycle. “Always check your facts,” he cautions. With that, he tips the reader off to the first of the many genuine facts he’ll share: gnus are a kind of African antelope.
Fake Gnus, like many memorable kids’ stories, hums along thanks to a song-like structure. The fake news/gnus are the changing verses, always coming back to a Scoop check-the facts! refrain.
Our junior journo announces he’s heard gnus are eating ice cream in Central Park. Page flip, and nope: it’s a human extending her tongue for a hefty ice-cream lick. “FAKE GNUS!” shouts Scoop, with the gusto of old-time newsboys hawking the latest edition on street corners. Fact: “gnus are herbivores, which means they only eat plants.”
The fun keeps re-gnu-ing. Scoop reports a sighting of a gnu getting a shave in a barbershop. At first glance, sure, the shaving-cream-covered face in the chair could be a gnu. However, de-creamed, it’s just another human. Fact: both male and female gnus sport beards and are quite happy staying shave-free.
More page flips and — you gnu it had to happen — The Gnu York Times looms out. According to its headline, gnus are climbing the Empire State Building. “FAKE GNUS!” protests our trusty Scoop. Gnus aren’t climbers. “Their thin legs and hooves are made for running fast on open ground — up to fifty miles (or eighty kilometers) per hour! That’s faster than a lot of cars!”
In an afterword for adults to read and discuss with kids, Helakowski asks, “Is everything you see and hear true? Don’t count on it. Remember that the more unbelievable information is, the less likely it is to be true. Using AI (artificial intelligence) and other computer programs, people can alter information, sounds and images, and spread them quickly. Before you pass information on, check your FACTS.”
In our misinformation age of anything-goes claims all over the internet, Fake Gnus is gullibility-proof brain nutrition kids need. And, being fun, it’s all the more potent.
Take that as a genuine gnus/news scoop from this Jackson.
About the Author/Illustrator
Leslie Helakoski has written multiple picture books, including Woolbur, When the Rain Came Down and Are Your Stars Like My Stars? Leslie has served as regional advisor for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Michigan. She runs a picture book workshop at the Highlights Foundation.
About the Reviewer
Melanie Jackson is a Vancouver writer/editor. She’s also the award-winning author of middle-grade/YA suspensers, including Orca Books’ Dinah Galloway Mystery Series, and several chillers set in amusement parks.
Book Details
Publisher: Groundwood Books, August 4, 2026
Language: English
Hardcover: 36 pages
ISBN: 9781779460509