The Meanest Thing to Say: Little Bill Books for Beginning Readers [Hardcover]

Bill Cosby (Author), Varnette P. Honeywood (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997 | Age Level: 6 and up | Series: Oprah's Book Club

When a new boy in his second grade class tries to get the other students to play a game that involves saying the meanest things possible to one another, Little Bill shows him a better way to make friends.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Oprah Book Club® Selection, December 1997: What would you say if someone told you you smelled like an old egg salad? Little Bill learns from his father that "So?" may be the best retort. This contribution to well-known comedian Bill Cosby's Little Bill series for beginning readers tackles the challenge of not only outsmarting mean-spirited bullies, but understanding them, too. The book begins when a new boy named Michael Reilly comes to Little Bill's class. At recess he suggests a game called "Playing the Dozens," where you get 12 chances to say something mean to a person, and the meanest insult wins.

As Little Bill spends the night agonizing about what prize-winning insults he can concoct for the next day's game, his father teaches him a sidestep maneuver that ends up diffusing the situation completely. If for some reason you miss this important lesson (your child certainly won't!), Clinical Professor of Psychiatry Alvin F. Poussaint's introduction provides a full analysis of peace-through-situation-deflation and how bullies are lonely and insecure. Early readers will welcome the large type and spacious format of the Little Bill books, enhanced by Varnette P. Honeywood's flat, vivacious, boldly colorful illustrations. (Ages 5 to 8)

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. Cosby turns his hand to writing, telling stories about situations that children often face. In The Best Way to Play, Little Bill, the narrator, and his friends get caught up in the excitement and marketing of their favorite TV cartoon, Space Explorers, and desperately want their parents to buy them the expensive video game. They become bored with it quickly, however, and realize that it's more fun to play Space Explorers outside. In The Meanest Thing to Say, Little Bill comes face to face with a bully. The Treasure Hunt takes him on a voyage of self-exploration. It seems to him that everyone in his family has a special quality. After a full day of searching, he discovers that his is "telling stories and making people laugh." These titles feature short chapters, making them appropriate for beginning readers?but they're also short enough to be read aloud. Honeywood's illustrations are bright and eye-catching, and show Little Bill and his friends and family as having distinctive personalities and characteristics. Each book comes with a letter to parents from a child psychiatrist about the subject matter in that book. While the writing is nothing extraordinary, Cosby has a good grasp of the issues and how the world looks through children's eyes. The primarily African-American characters also make these books welcome additions to easy-reader collections.?Dina Sherman, Brooklyn Children's Museum, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic; 1 edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590137549
• ISBN-13: 978-0590137546
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,774,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cosby tells "stories about situations children often face.", March 14, 2007

By 

Soaring Heart - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Meanest Thing To Say: A Little Bill Book for Beginning Readers, Level 3 (Oprah's Book Club) (Paperback)

The Meanest Thing To Say is not about saying mean things back to mean people. And it isn't even about mean people. What it IS about is children learning self-control, level-headedness and heart. When the new kid, Michael, calls Little Bill names, and says he has to think of the meanest things to say back the next day, Bill is frustrated and anxious. This comes up at home and his dad tells him to just say, "So?" to everything. Little Bill does this and it halts Michael. It takes two people to fight. But the moral of the story doesn't stop here. Bill observes Michael is a new student and maybe just needs a friend. So he invites him to play basketball with him and they become friends.

Unfortunately it is reality that children can be very mean and hurtful. As parents, we need to teach our children how to handle bullies and it's equally as important to teach them not to BE a bully. Also, just ignoring mean actions and words doesn't always work. Everyone has good in them and we all, ages 2-102 need to offer kindness instead of anger. Great job, Cosby! Thank you and please keep writing. Peace & Soar!o8E

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars MY SON LOVES THIS BOOK/HE'S ONLY 2 YEARS OLD, August 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Meanest Thing To Say: A Little Bill Book for Beginning Readers, Level 3 (Oprah's Book Club) (Paperback)

MY SON WANTS THIS STORY READ TO HIM EVERY NIGHT....AND HE KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT TO SAY WHEN HE IS TOLD SOMETHING MEAN...SO, I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR KIDS AND ADULTS!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Meanest Thing to Say, February 11, 2000

By 

Sherall (LOS ANGELES, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Meanest Thing To Say: A Little Bill Book for Beginning Readers, Level 3 (Oprah's Book Club) (Paperback)

I would like to thank Bill and Varnette for the great work they have done. My son was having problems reading until we bought this book at a Book Fair. My son is 8 years old and loves reading know thanks to the wonderful job that Mr. Bill Cosby has done. Also he was having problems with teasing at school. But know he realize that teasing someone is very mean and that is can hurt them in the long run. Once again I would like to thank Bill and Varnette for the wondeful job they are doing. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!