What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

This is a long shot, but I remember as a child first reading the Liar's Paradox:

The statement below is false.
The statement above is true.

Or some similar variation of it. Perhaps the character was first being introduced to paradoxes themselves. I'm afraid I can't remember the story itself. It was probably children's general fiction or science-fiction. Mostly what I remember is those two sentences separated out from the rest of the text, and just puzzling over them back and forth in my head.

Having referenced this paradox many times since, it would relieve this niggling sensation to be able to remember the book where I first encountered it. Thank you for any suggestions.

Melissa, around what year did you read this book?

Probably not what you're looking for, but I'll mention it just in case it triggers a memory. Fantasy novel The Lake of Tears by Emily Rodda. Chapter 3: "...We will play a game to decide which way you will die... If what you say is true, I will strangle you with my bare hands. If what you say is false, I will cut off your head."

Thanks for the suggestion, but I'm afraid it's not it.

I read it in the 1990s, probably early 90s rather than later, but I wouldn't be able to pin down an exact year.

I do know that the paradox wasn't paraphrased, but the two lines were spaced out from the rest of the text, parallel to one another.

Bump.

Don't know if this will help any, but the paradox is also known as the double liar's paradox, card paradox, postcard paradox, and Jourdain paradox

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it gets referenced in The Mysterious Benedict Society series somewhere (maybe as part of the initial puzzles in the first book?), but those are too late (2007) to be your book anyway if you read it in the 90s.

I think it also gets mentioned towards the end of Pratchett's Thief of Time, but that's 2001, and probably not considered a children's book.

Have you tried a Wrinkle in Time? Or The Ear the Eye and the Arm, perhaps the Westing Game? That's my best 90's kid guesses where a statement like that would pop up.

Andy's suggestions:
- A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
- The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer
- The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

Makes me think of a book called Xorandor, in which two children encounter an intelligent rock - basically a computer - and learn to communicate with it in something like computer code Xorandor

Melissa, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

I'm afraid I never did find it. I wish I could give additional information about the book, but that detail is divorced from the rest of the storyline, unfortunately.

Have you eliminated the suggested books above?