Little Bill (book series)

This article is about the book series. For the TV series based on the books, see Little Bill. For other uses, see Little Bill (disambiguation).

Little Bill is a now out-of-commerce^[1] series of twelve children's books by Bill Cosby and Varnette Honeywood. Cosby wrote the stories, while Honeywood created the characters and made the illustrations in her typical collage style.^[2] They were originally aimed at readers aged 7 to 10^[3] and were released from 1997 to 1999. These books are no longer available in school libraries after 2014.^[1]

Little Bill

Cover for The Day I Was Rich (book #9)
Author	Bill Cosby
Illustrator	Varnette P. Honeywood
Cover artist	Varnette P. Honeywood
Country	United States
Language	English
Publisher	Scholastic Corporation
Published	1997–1999
Media type	Print

The books follow a young African-American boy named Little Bill. Every story is told in the first person, and the books cover topics like boredom, bullies, honesty, courage, family, and friendship. The characters are rendered in a "bold, blocky" style with bright colors and simplified forms.^[4][5]

All of the books were dedicated to Cosby's late son, Ennis Cosby, and the character of Little Bill was based on him. Little Bill's catchphrase "Hello, friend!" was originally a greeting that Ennis used.^[6]

In 1999, the books were adapted into an animated series on Nickelodeon, also called Little Bill. Discussions to adapt the books took place as early as December 1997, when it was reported that Nickelodeon was "planning to produce three Little Bill specials, and a five-day-a-week series is under discussion."^[6]

Reception

The books received positive reviews, with critics praising the realistic stories and dialogue. Karen MacPherson of the Scripps Howard News Service said that "the books' story line and dialog is candid and rings true, while the bold, expressively colored illustrations by Varnette P. Honeywood help keep the reader's interest."^[7] The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books wrote that "there's a vulnerable commonality to Little Bill that many young readers will warm to."^[8] Writing for the Orange County Register, Sandra Draper said that both "children and parents can relate to the realistic tone of the stories."^[9]

In December 1997, Oprah Winfrey chose three of the Little Bill books as selections for Oprah's Book Club. This marked the first time that children's books were selected.^[10]

Withdrawal

Following the wake of the sexual assault allegations against Bill Cosby in 2014, the Little Bill books are most often targeted for removal in school libraries.^[1] Nickelodeon also stopped airing the TV series on its networks in 2014 after the allegations came to light.^[11]

References

• Children's literature portal

1. Grinberg, Emmanuella (April 10, 2017). "Bill Cosby's 'Little Bill' books targeted for censorship, library group says". CNN.
2. Grimes, William (September 16, 2010). "Varnette Honeywood, Whose Art Appeared on 'Cosby Show,' Dies at 59". The New York Times.
3. "Bill Cosby pens kids' books". UPI. 22 November 1996.
4. Phillips, Maya (August 17, 2020). "From 'Proud Family' to 'The Boondocks': 11 Black Animated Series". The New York Times.
5. "Detroit Free Press from Detroit, Michigan on August 30, 1997 · Page 29". 30 August 1997.
6. Mehren, Elizabeth (December 12, 1997). "Cos and Effect". Los Angeles Times.
7. "The Commercial Appeal 05 Oct 1997, page 64".
8. "Archived copy" (PDF). www.ideals.illinois.edu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 November 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "The Salt Lake Tribune from Salt Lake City, Utah on September 21, 1997 · 61". 21 September 1997.
10. McClurg, Jocelyn (December 14, 1997). "Oprah Picks Cosby Books for Kids". Hartford Courant.
11. Piazza, Bianca (January 21, 2022). "'Little Bill' Boasts a Darker Energy Today Than It Did in 1999 — Is Bill Cosby the Protagonist?". Distractify.