The Surprise: Bobby and April are planning a special surprise for Alice the Great's birthday: a photo album filled with pictures of her all through her life. Little Bill points that they don't have any up to date photos of her, and volunteers to be the ""secret picture taker."" He tries to take photographs of Alice around the house, and even gets the rest of the family to pose with her, but when she catches on, he accidentally lets the news about the gift slip out. Upset at ruining the surprise, Little Bill doesn't even want to attend the birthday party; trying to cheer him up, Brenda tells him she developed his photos, and Alice the Great doesn't know about these pictures. Bill decides to take the photos and make a special collage to add to the last page in the photo album.

Good Ol' Lighnin': While looking in the photo album, Little Bill spots a photo of Alice when she was his age, riding in a wagon. Alice remarks that the wagon was nicknamed ""Ol' Lightnin'"" and that she used to ride it

The Surprise!/ Good Ol' Lightnin'

Xavier Pritchett

Gregory Hines

Phylicia Rashād

Ruby Dee

Monique Beasley

Eunice Cho

Kianna Underwood

The Musical Instrument/ The Choir

Same Moon, Same Sun, Same Star/ All Together Now

The Car Keys: As Big Bill and Bobby return from an errand, Big Bill asks Bobby to put away his car keys for him. Pretending to pitch a baseball, Bobby throws the keys effortlessly into a bowl on the table by the door. Wanting to emulate his older brother, Little Bill takes the keys and prepares to toss them also when he's interrupted by guests at the door. Andrew and his mother have come over to invite Little Bill to play at their house, so the boys go up to Bill's bedroom to get some toys and put Elephant back in his cage. Little Bill forgets he has the keys in his hand and as he puts Elephant away the keys drop and roll under his bed. Later, as Big Bill and Bobby get ready for Bobby's violin lesson, Big Bill asks what happened to the keys. Bobby asserts that he did put them away, but will start looking for them. Little Bill, remembering what he did, is afraid to tell his brother what happened, fearing their father will be angry. Finally, Little Bill confesses to Bobby what happened;

The Car Keys/ Doggie Sitting

New Foods: Brenda and Little Bill are shopping at the grocery store when they run into Little Bill's classmate, Dorado, and his mother, Valencia. Valencia invites Bill to play over at their house and stay for dinner, but Brenda mentions they are planning to attend April's basketball game late that evening, so Valencia extends the invitation to the next day. Little Bill asks if they can have his favorite meal, macaroni and cheese; Valencia says she is going to make Dorado's favorite foods that night-- chicken with rice and pigeon peas, and fried plantain bananas. Little Bill is hesitant to  try the new foods, and laments to his mother that he would rather eat food he is familiar with. Brenda gets him to realize how eating something different can be fun by asking him if everything were made out of macaroni and cheese, would he still want to eat it? Little Bill agrees to taste the dishes, and to his surprise discovers he enjoys it very much.

Elephant Tricks: Little Bill and Andrew are wat

New Foods/ Elephant Tricks

What About Me?: Little Bill asks his father if they can go play catch in the park, but just as they are leaving, April asks Big Bill to help her repair the computer, which she needs to use to finish her homework. Big Bill fixes the printer and the two are ready to leave again when April announces the computer crashed again. Thinking that his father will be tied up with April's problems for a while, Little Bill asks Brenda if she will take him instead; she apologizes and explains she's helping Bobby fix his bicycle. Feeling ignored, Little Bill retreats to his room and decides to pass the time observing a bird's nest outside his window. Just when the rest of the family finishes their tasks and tells Bill they can all go to the park with him, Little Bill spots one of the baby birds falling out of the nest and rushes outside to rescue it. Big Bill gets a ladder to return the bird to the nest, and calls his son a hero, pointing out that if they had left when they originally planned to, Lit

What About Me?/ Happy Not Birthday To You

Racing Time: Little Bill is trying to get ready for school, but little things keep distracting him, like watching the bird's nest outside his window, and playing with Elephant. Alice the Great tells him if he doesn't stop dawdling he will be late to school. Little Bill gets to school too late to see Show and Tell, and misses his friend Kiku's presentation, showing her cat, Big Debbie. Little Bill apologizes to Miss Murray for his tardiness, and she reminds him to not be late to class the next day because she's bringing in her pet to who the class tomorrow. When he gets home after school, Little Bill asks Alice the Great to help him with his problem of getting ready on time. Alice suggests using an egg timer from the kitchen to time how long it takes Little Bill to do his tasks; that way, he can know how much time he has left before he knows he will be late. The next morning, Alice uses the timer to clock how long it takes Bill to get dressed, have his breakfast, and brush his teeth in

Racing Time/ All Tied Up

Echo Falls: Big Bill and Uncle Al take Little Bill and Fuchsia on a hiking trip to visit Echo Falls. Uncle Al is reading a map with guide markings on it to make sure they are following the right path, but one of the signs is covered up by a bush, and they get turned around going the wrong way. Little Bill figures out that if they walk back to where they saw the last landmark, then try to listen for the waterfalls, they will get to the right place.

Going Fishing: As part of their hiking trip, Al and Big Bill take the children fishing. Little Bill gets discouraged when it seems like everybody else is catching fish; he tries to change paces on the boat, puts on his father's lucky hat, but nothing seems to help. Uncle Al suggests they break for lunch, and have a picnic. Little Bill gets inspired, and asks Big Bill if he can use his hot dog as bait for the fish. The next time the family goes out to fish, Little Bill tries his new bait and catches the biggest fish of all.

Echo Falls/ Going Fishing

The Best Book Ever: Brenda takes Little Bill to the library so he get his first library card and check out a book. He checks out a book called, ""A Day in the Life of a Hamster"" and tells the librarian it's the best book ever. All week long, he reads the book over and over. When it's time to return the book, Little Bill tells Brenda he doesn't want to, because he likes it too much. When the librarian asks what he liked about it, Bill realizes he has memorized the story, and can remember it, so he returns the book and checks out another.

A Ramp For Monty: Monty and Bill are reading in the library, and when Big Bill comes to pick them up, Bill notices that Monty can exit the library easily in his wheelchair using a ramp. He also sees that there is not a ramp at their house, so it's hard for Monty to go up their stairs when he visits. After Monty goes home, Little Bill asks Big Bill to help him build a ramp for the back steps as a surprise for Monty the next time he visits. When Monty come

The Best Book Ever!/ A Ramp For Monty

The New Babysitter: Brenda and Bill Bill are going to a meeting at April's school, while Alice the Great has a doctor's appointment, so Little Bill will be getting a new babysitter: Mr. Rojas' niece, Isabel. Little Bill still misses his old babysitter, Mrs. Shapiro, so when Isabel arrives and asks what he wants to play, he skulks and says,""Nothing."" Deciding to take the initiative, Isabel invents ""The Nothing Game,"" saying he has to keep perfectly still, doing nothing, and the first one to move loses. This makes him laugh, so she offers to make dinner while he plays in his room. He finally warms up to her when he learns Isabel loves his favorite TV show, Space Explorers, and makes up a funny game playing ""the friendly alien from the 4th galaxy meets Captain Brainstorm.""

My Friend Isabel: Alice the Great has a dentis appontment after school, so Little Bill asks if Isabel can pick him up instead. She agrees, but explains that she can't stay long because she has to study for a test the ne

The New Babysitter/ My Friend Isabel

The Early Bill: Little Bill wakes up very early one morning, and find that everyone else, except Alice the Great, is still sleeping. Alice invites him to come along with her on her morning walk. They walk to the park, and on the way, they meet Uncle Al taking a jog, Mr. Rojas walking Lito, and Miss Murray practicing Tai Chi. When they get to the park, Alice takes Bill to the pond, where he spots a goose and her goslings. When they get back home, Bill tells Bobby about all the things he missed by sleeping late.

Going Camping: Bobby and April are going on a school camping trip for the weekend, and Little Bill is disappointed that he's too young to go. To cheer him up, Big Bill suggests they have their own campout in the backyard. They set up a tent and cook their dinner on a portable stove. Big Bill starts to tell a story, but gets spooked by the neigbor's cat. He then suggests counting firelies, but Little Bill has nodded off.

The Early Bill/ Going Camping

Same Moon, Same Sun, Same Star- Little Bill's next door neighbor, Mrs. Shapiro, announces that she has decided to move to Hawaii to live with her sister. Brenda explains that it means Mrs. Shapiro will be living very far away from them and may only visit once a year. Although he understands, Little Bill is worried that he'll never see his good friend ever again. Mrs. Shapiro assures him they can stay in contact by writing to one another and using the telephone; she also gives him her ukelele as a parting gift along with a little tip to help him whenever he starts to feel lonely: she sings a song from Hawaii that points out that although they will live in different parts of the country, they will still see the ""same moon, same sun, same star"" when they look up at the sky. When Little Bill begins to miss her, she states, just look up at the sky and think of her looking at the sky, too.  This cheers up Little Bill and allows him to say a heartfelt goodbye to his neighbor.

All Together Now

The Musical Instrument: After watching Bobby practicing his violin, Little Bill decides he might like to learn to play a musical instrument. He asks Bobby how he decided on the violin; Bobby replies that ""it just felt right"" after trying out other instruments. Big Bill takes Little Bill to a local music store to try out different instruments, but announces that none of them feel right to him. When he makes up a song off the top of his head to express himself, Alice the Great points out that singing is also music, so Little Bill decides his voice is his new ""instrument.""

The Choir: Little Bill hears April practicing a song for the church choir, and asks if he can sing with her, but she gets annoyed with his improvisational scatting rather than singing the part as written. Little Bill talks Brenda into letting him join April at her choir practice. Bill sits quietly and listens to the girls practice, but when Tiny becomes sick during rehearsal and has to be sent home, Little Bill voluntee

The Incredible Shrinking Little Bill: Little Bill decides to measure himself using the family growth chart along the kitchen doorway, but his hand slips while making the mark and his new line falls below the old measurement that last time he checked his height. Now convinced he's shrinking, Little Bill consults the rest of the family about ways to grow bigger. Big Bill mentions how people grow at night while they sleep, and Alice the Great says eating the right foods helps growth. Bobby and April say stretching exercises help, but when Brenda catches the children trying to stretch Bill by pulling on his legs and arms, she puts a stop to the nonsense. Showing Bill how he made a mistake, Brenda measures him again and shows him he actually grew a little since last time.

The Big Swings: At the park, Little Bill asks Alice the Great if he can play on the big playground equipment like April and Bobby do. Bobby promises to look after his little brother while April is playing basketball with h

The Incredible Shrinking Little Bill/ The Big Swings

New Neighbors: Bobby and Little Bill notice someone new moving into Mrs. Shapiro's old house, and decide to investigate. Alice the Great and April have made a cake to welcome the new neighbors, and they all go next door to meet Mr. Rojas, a retired gentleman who works part time as a children's entertainer with his dog, Miguelito. While they are talking with Mr. Rojas, the children discover some of their belongings have gone missing-- April's shoe, Bobby's magnifying glass, and Little Bill's hat. Deciding to investigate before accusing his new neighbor of being a thief, Little Bill discovers that there is a hole in their fence big enough for Lito to squeeze through, and he has been swiping things as a fetching exercise. Mr. Rojas promises to fix the fence and teach Lito not to take things anymore.

Doggie Magic: Big Bill and Little Bill are on their way home from shopping when Big Bill notices Mr. Rojas having trouble with his car. He offers to help fix the problem, but Little Bill remin

New Neighbors/ Doggie Magic

I Can Sign: Brenda and Little Bill are grocery shopping when Little Bill notices a new cashier; he is confused because she doesn't talk, using her hands to communicate. Brenda explains the cashier, Angie, is deaf, and uses sign language to talk. She tries to introduce them, but Little Bill becomes uncharacteristically shy, and afraid to talk. When they return home and tell April what happened, she remarks that she's learning sign language at school and can teach Little Bill what to say; she shows him how to say Hello, Friends, and Elephant, and how to finger spell his name. The next time they go to the store, Little Bill signs his usual greeting to Angie, ""Hello, Friend!""

The Sign For Friend: Little Bill is playing in the park with Andrew when they notice a new girl playing with her mother; she seems engrossed with using a special magnifying glass that lets her look at insects closely. The boys would like to meet her and ask if they can play with the toy, too, but can't seem to get her

I Can Sign/ The Sign For Friend

Summertime In The Wintertime: A blizzard hits the Philadelphia area, leaving the Glover children stuck inside the house for the day. Thinking of ways to entertain themselves until it warms up, Little Bill suggests imagining that it's summer instead, and decorates his room like the beach. His siblings join in the fun and take the ""beach"" into the living room. April notes that Brenda and Big Bill were unable to avoid the snowstorm before heading off to work and will probably be tired, cold and wet when they come home. Bobby and Little Bill decide they should put on a ""Summertime In The Wintertime"" variety show for their parents to cheer them up. April pretends to do a news report, Bobby tells jokes, while Little Bill sings the songs he made up. Brenda, Big Bill, and Alice the Great tell the children how much they appreciate their thoughtfulness and creativity.

Snow Racer: Little Bill and his friend Michael take advantage of the snowstorm by building a pretend racecar out of snow, dubbing

Summertime In The Wintertime/ Snow Racer

Get Well, Elephant: Big Bill and Little Bill are about to leave to see the Captain Brainstorm Movie when Big Bill points out that Little Bill forgot to put on his shoes. As he retrieves his sneakers, Little Bill notices that his pet hamster, Elephant, hasn't eaten and seems lethargic; worried, Little Bill tells his father that they can't go to the movie until they take care of his pet. Little Bill decides to ask Percy Mulch, the pet store owner for advice, and Percy suggests that Little Bill just make Elephant warm, comfortable, and give lots of water. Little Bill follows the instructions carefully, and after a good night's rest, Elephant seems to be back to his old self.

Elephant's Best Friend: Little Bill and Andrew are playing Space Explorers, and decide Elephant should play the alien in their story. Andrew says that Elephant needs a best friend to play with, just like the boys are best friends. They try to find someone with common interests like Elephant, but when they ask April to

Get Well, Elephant/ Elephant's Best Friend

The Skating Lesson: Little Bill is very excited about learning to roller skate with April, but he doesn't know why he needs lessons; he expects to just take off and skate right away. April explains that it takes time to learn how to balance on the skates, but Little Bill gives up angrily after falling down several times. When he watches April give a lesson to his cousin Fuchsia, who has been skating for a few days and keeps on trying even if she falls down, Little Bill gets encouraged to make another attempt.

Mr. Moth: Miss Murray is giving the class a lesson on insects, and has assigned each of the children a butterfly chrysalis to watch it change. As Fuchsia's, Kiku's and Andrew's butterflies all begin to hatch, but Little Bill's doesn't, Miss Murray notices that Little Bill was given a moth pod instead. She tells him that moths usually take longer to hatch, and may come out at night; she allows Bill to take his insect home so he doesn't miss the hatching. Just before he's about to f

The Skating Lesson/ Mr. Moth

Private Time: The Glover family is cleaning the kitchen together when Big Bill mentions to Brenda that ""their song"" is playing on the radio and asks her to dance. April takes the hint that her parents might like to be alone together and tries to escort her brothers out, but Little Bill doesn't understand when April says they'd like some ""private time."" Brenda explains that it means sometimes people need to be alone with someone to talk, or just spend time together. Little Bill is still a little confused, and says that his walks on errands with his mother must be their private time, so his parents decide to just explain it to him when he's older.

Never: Alice the Great is entertaining an old friend, Jazz musician Clark Terry, but Little Bill is feeling a little put out because Sunday afternoons are usually the time he spends with Alice by himself-- it's their ""private time."" Alice invites Clark to join them on their walk to the park, but they go to a different area than they usually do.

Private Time/ Never

When Friends Get Mad: Little Bill and his friends are painting pictures of Things We Like About Spring to decorate the room's bulletin board. Little Bill is very proud if his painting of a spring day, with flowers and trees in a park, but when Kiku tries to get a closer look, she accidentally knocks over the glass of water used to rinse the paintbrushes, spilling all over Bill's paper, ruining it. Angry over his hard work being destroyed, Bill retaliates by crumpling up Kiku's paper. Kiku begins to cry, and Little Bill doesn't understand why everyone sides with her, and expects him to apologize! When he gets home, Brenda and Big Bill find out what happened and try to explain to Bill that what Kiku did was an accident, but what he did as on purpose because he was angry. The next day at school, Bill apologizes to Kiku and offers to help make a new painting for her.

The Party Box: Brenda, Big Bill, and Alice the Great are hosting a cocktail party for some of their friends, but Little Bill

When Friends Get Mad/ The Party Box

Little Bill is a television show for children that is presently on Nick Jr. The stories are based on Bill Cosby's Little Bill book series, set in Philadelphia and feature Bill Jr. learning a lesson or moral. It was developed through research and in consultation with a panel of educational consultants.

The show also aired on CBS as part of Nick Jr. on CBS, from September 16, 2000 - September 7, 2002, then as part of Nick on CBS from August 2, 2003 - September 10, 2005. The show returned with the return of Nick Jr. on CBS on September 17, 2005, and seen through September 9, 2006 when the block was replaced with The KOL Secret Slumber Party on CBS. The series went back into production in fall 2006 and a new season of 6 episodes aired on Noggin throughout April and July 2007, ending in the later month. Reruns are played on Nick Jr., on BET, as of January 7, 2008, and on Centric, as of May 1, 2010.

Sonia Manzano, best known for playing Maria Rodriguez on Sesame Street, was a frequent writer for the show.

The Surprise!/ Good Ol' Lightnin'

Seasons4

Season 4 Episodes19

Cast7

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