THE TREASURE HUNT

In the new Little Bill series for beginning readers, Little Bill figures that his father has a prized collection of jazz LPs, his brother has a stack of classic baseball cards, and his mother owns a silver serving platter—so what does he have that's special? Enter his great-grandmother Alice, who hears his complaint, asks for a story, and laughs at the silly episode he concocts. Bill realizes that he has something special after all- -an ability to tell stories. Emerging readers will skip past Professor Alvin Poussaint's opening letter to parents but won't be able to dodge the bluntly delivered lesson in this three- chapter esteem-builder. Honeywood's brightly colored domestic scenes, painted in a flat, folksy style, add plenty of visual energy, and the pleasure each member of Little Bill's family takes in his or her special thing lightens the book's obvious didactic intent. (Fiction. 6-8)