My Big Lie (A Little Bill Book for Beginning Readers)

Rating:
Summary: Little Bill learns a lesson about telling the truth
Review: At the beginning of "My Big Lie," one of comedian and educator Billy Cosby's "Little Bill Books for Beginning Readers," Little Bill is in his room being punished for telling a big fib by having to copy a story called "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Most young readers will already be familiar with that ancient story, but if they are not Young Bill retells the story and then goes into why he is being punished. Young Bill tells his parents that he is going to ride his bike to the pool to practice with a friend for the swim meet. His mother warns that they are having an early dinner at 4:30 and Little Bill says he will be back by then. But on his way to the pool he sees the guys playing basketball and ends up playing with them. The next thing he knows it is 7:00. Big Bill knows he is in BIG trouble and his friend tells him he had better think of something fast.

Well, Little Bill apparently thinks too fast because when he gets home and everybody wants to know what happened he makes up a story. Now, every young reader of this book should be shocked at Little Bill's story because if anything what he says happens with his lie is even worse than what really happened. Without being told, they will know that what Little Bill is doing is really, really wrong. What they might need pointed out to them is the way that Little Bill's parents deal with their son, because although his parents are too made to actually praise him for admitting his mistake, they do not yell at him.

In his introductory letter to parents Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, the child psychiatry specialist who was an advisor to "The Cosby Show," emphasizes how the punishment given to Little Bill by his parents was educational. Poussaint points out that since his parents did not yell at him when he finally told them the truth that Little Bill would be less likely to tell another lie the next time he got into trouble. In that regard "My Big Lie" is as instructive for parents as it is for beginning readers.

I also appreciated the key difference between what happens with Little Bill in "My Big Lie" and the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." In the latter story the young boy tells two lies and, ironically, when he tells the truth the third time no one believes him. But in this story it is a single lie that threatens Little Bill's reputation with his family. His parents do not wait for their son to make the same mistake a second time, or to make an even worse mistake. It is that level of attention to the meaning of the story that makes these Little Bill books one of the best educational series available for beginning readers (and their parental units).

Rating:
Summary: Little Bill learns a lesson about telling the truth
Review: At the beginning of "My Big Lie," one of comedian and educator Billy Cosby's "Little Bill Books for Beginning Readers," Little Bill is in his room being punished for telling a big fib by having to copy a story called "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Most young readers will already be familiar with that ancient story, but if they are not Young Bill retells the story and then goes into why he is being punished. Young Bill tells his parents that he is going to ride his bike to the pool to practice with a friend for the swim meet. His mother warns that they are having an early dinner at 4:30 and Little Bill says he will be back by then. But on his way to the pool he sees the guys playing basketball and ends up playing with them. The next thing he knows it is 7:00. Big Bill knows he is in BIG trouble and his friend tells him he had better think of something fast.

Well, Little Bill apparently thinks too fast because when he gets home and everybody wants to know what happened he makes up a story. Now, every young reader of this book should be shocked at Little Bill's story because if anything what he says happens with his lie is even worse than what really happened. Without being told, they will know that what Little Bill is doing is really, really wrong. What they might need pointed out to them is the way that Little Bill's parents deal with their son, because although his parents are too made to actually praise him for admitting his mistake, they do not yell at him.

In his introductory letter to parents Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, the child psychiatry specialist who was an advisor to "The Cosby Show," emphasizes how the punishment given to Little Bill by his parents was educational. Poussaint points out that since his parents did not yell at him when he finally told them the truth that Little Bill would be less likely to tell another lie the next time he got into trouble. In that regard "My Big Lie" is as instructive for parents as it is for beginning readers.

I also appreciated the key difference between what happens with Little Bill in "My Big Lie" and the story of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." In the latter story the young boy tells two lies and, ironically, when he tells the truth the third time no one believes him. But in this story it is a single lie that threatens Little Bill's reputation with his family. His parents do not wait for their son to make the same mistake a second time, or to make an even worse mistake. It is that level of attention to the meaning of the story that makes these Little Bill books one of the best educational series available for beginning readers (and their parental units).

Rating:
Summary: Lessons on Trust
Review: Every year my students have a choice of choosing a book from the stack of 'Little Bill' books, and this one is always the first one they pick. The moral of this story is one that not only teachers wish to inflict, but parents, as well. It has a great way of introducing THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF story into the classroom. I also enjoyed how it introduced a way to discuss the definition of a "fib". This book was great for my students because we were able to explore in more detail the meaning of true "trust". I recommend this book to every teacher and every parent of elementary aged children.

Rating:
Summary: Lessons on Trust
Review: Every year my students have a choice of choosing a book from the stack of 'Little Bill' books, and this one is always the first one they pick. The moral of this story is one that not only teachers wish to inflict, but parents, as well. It has a great way of introducing THE BOY WHO CRIED WOLF story into the classroom. I also enjoyed how it introduced a way to discuss the definition of a "fib". This book was great for my students because we were able to explore in more detail the meaning of true "trust". I recommend this book to every teacher and every parent of elementary aged children.