The Day I Was Rich (Little Bill Books for Beginning Readers (Hardcover))

Rating:
Summary: Okay, so how would you spend millions of dollars?
Review: All kids dream of finding a treasure, although usually it just ends up a really interesting looking piece of wood or a rock, or maybe something cool in somebody's garbage. In "The Day I Was Rich," a Little Bill Book for Beginning Readers, Bill Cosby's Little Bill finds something that makes him the richest boy in the whole wide world. You see, one day Little Bill and his friends are making up a game using sticks and cans that they found in the park, when he stumbles across the biggest diamond in the world. Little Bill is now the richest boy in the world and the big question is how will he and his friends spend all that money?

Adults will appreciate the truth of "The Day I Was Rich" in terms of how quickly Little Bill and his friends have visions of sudden wealth and start talking about what they are going to buy for themselves with the millions of dollars they will get for this giant diamond. Do they ever think about saving money? No, they do not. Do they wonder about who lost the diamond or whether it should be returned? Of course not. All that matters is that big diamond and their excitement over being instant millionaires sweeps aside their good sense.

As always Bill Cosby has a point to make in all of these stories, and my only concern with "The Day I Was Rich" is that he stops short of completing the lesson he is teaching her. Dr. Alvin F. Poussiant's letter to parents at the start of the book talks about the importance of teaching kids what would have happened if children were to find a real diamond or something else of value. However, that point is not found in Cosby's narrative, so there is a necessity here for parents to become involved and to talk about what would have happened in the real world under those circumstances.

That is not a bad thing, because it would have parents (or teachers) actively involved in teaching their children and not leaving it Cosby and illustrator Varnette P. Honeywood to do all the teaching. Hopefully parents will read the book and Poussaint's letter and not simply buy the book and give it to their children. There is a golden opportunity here of which parents should take advantage.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, so how would you spend millions of dollars?
Review: All kids dream of finding a treasure, although usually it just ends up a really interesting looking piece of wood or a rock, or maybe something cool in somebody's garbage. In "The Day I Was Rich," a Little Bill Book for Beginning Readers, Bill Cosby's Little Bill finds something that makes him the richest boy in the whole wide world. You see, one day Little Bill and his friends are making up a game using sticks and cans that they found in the park, when he stumbles across the biggest diamond in the world. Little Bill is now the richest boy in the world and the big question is how will he and his friends spend all that money?

Adults will appreciate the truth of "The Day I Was Rich" in terms of how quickly Little Bill and his friends have visions of sudden wealth and start talking about what they are going to buy for themselves with the millions of dollars they will get for this giant diamond. Do they ever think about saving money? No, they do not. Do they wonder about who lost the diamond or whether it should be returned? Of course not. All that matters is that big diamond and their excitement over being instant millionaires sweeps aside their good sense.

As always Bill Cosby has a point to make in all of these stories, and my only concern with "The Day I Was Rich" is that he stops short of completing the lesson he is teaching her. Dr. Alvin F. Poussiant's letter to parents at the start of the book talks about the importance of teaching kids what would have happened if children were to find a real diamond or something else of value. However, that point is not found in Cosby's narrative, so there is a necessity here for parents to become involved and to talk about what would have happened in the real world under those circumstances.

That is not a bad thing, because it would have parents (or teachers) actively involved in teaching their children and not leaving it Cosby and illustrator Varnette P. Honeywood to do all the teaching. Hopefully parents will read the book and Poussaint's letter and not simply buy the book and give it to their children. There is a golden opportunity here of which parents should take advantage.

Rating:
Summary: Imgination goes wild!!
Review: I thought this was a very well written book for youngsters. The pages are bold and colorful with easy to read words. It is a chapter book for the beginner reader with a story relating how a child's imgination can get away from them before they come back to earth. Bill Cosby writes this book for all to learn to laugh at ourself once in a while! And to think how we would react if we were in the same position as the kids in the story!!!

Rating:
Summary: Another great Little Bill Book
Review: Little Bill finds a huge "diamond" and thinks he's rich. Little Bill agrees to share the money with his friends. Their ideas for spending the money are sweet and thoughtful. They're disappointed that the "diamond" is a paperweight but they overcome the disappointment very quickly. They play outside and laugh at how they were fooled.

My daughter enjoys the Little Bill series and continues to enjoy this new one. If you like the Little Bill series, you'll like this one too.