Money Troubles

My school was cosponsoring a bookdrive for underserved children in the community. I knew that this book, along with all of the other Little Bill Books, would be a great addition to any home. This book is valuable for the young and old.

Little Bill has an interesting plan in "Money Troubles," another Little Bill Book for Beginning Readers by Bill Cosby. His teacher has explained about the Oort Cloud that exists beyond the orbit of Pluto and how one day a comet will emerge from the cloud and travel through space toward the sun. Little Bill has decided that he is going to discover that comet and have it named Comet Little Bill after himself so he can become famous. The only problem is that Little Bill needs a telescope to be able to discover a new comet and it costs $100. Knowing his parents will never give him that much money, Little Bill is coming to have to get the money himself. When he checks his football bank, he discovers he is only $52.13 away from becoming famous.Little Bill does a pretty good job of finding jobs that someone his age can do, although along the way he learns that some people have even better reasons for wanting to make money than being famous. Of course, there is a point where Little Bill gets ahead of himself and tries to take advantage of a situation, which explains why he looks so different at the end of the book from how he starts out. Ironically, "Money Troubles" does end up with Little Bill becoming famous. As Dr.Alvin F. Poussaint points out in his introductory letter to parents, one of the main lessons of this book for beginning readers is that working brings money. Little Bill shows some of the things the children can do to earn money through jobs outside the family. However, the other lesson is that other people may need money more than we do. The idea of Cosby's Little Bill books is to affirm the value of friendships and family relationships while encouraging children to solve problems fairly and creatively. But as this particular story shows, the famous comedian is also interested in modeling positive behavior for young children as well. I know how everybody used to applaud Cosby's "Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids" for its educational value, but I really think these Little Bill books are much more impressive. As always, the story is illustrated by Varnette P. Honeywood.

My kids (girls, 7 & 8) have recently fallen in love with the Little Bill books. But this one is a special discovery. The realistic approach to the subjects of money, want, need, being poor, to give or not to give, are dealt with so succinctly in this little book. All three of us were moved by the events as they unfolded. Thought-provoking and challenging for kids AND their parents!