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
Cover for The Day I Was Rich (book #9)
AuthorBill Cosby
IllustratorVarnette P. Honeywood
Cover artistVarnette P. Honeywood
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublisherScholastic Corporation
Published1997–1999
Media typePrint

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]

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]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CNN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  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. ^ a b Mehren, Elizabeth (December 12, 1997). "Cos and Effect". Los Angeles Times.