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For a while I thought that All the
Money in the World was by Scott Corbett. There's a kid who catches a
leprechaun and wishes for, you guessed it, all the money in the world. All sorts of problems
ensue. It wasn't such a great wish. When I looked through listings of books by Scott Corbett, though,
there wasn't a book that fit that description. I was talking to my roommate
about my hopeless hunt, and she said, "Hey, that sounds familiar. It was by the
same guy as this other book..." But she didn't remember the title or the author
of the other book! She described the other book to me, and I knew I had it at
home, far away, and I didn't remember the title either! When I went home, I
found the book, whose title is The Wish Giver. The author is Bill
Brittain. Then I looked up books by Bill Brittain, and found the one called
All the Money in the World. Bingo. Checked out the copy at the local library
at home - probably the same one I read before.
All the Money in the World is a really good book to read to learn
about how money works to facilitate what is really a barter system. Teaches
youngsters the meaning of the word "earn."
The Wish Giver is a book I remember seeing on TV. There was some
show where someone would read a book out loud, and you would watch it being
illustrated at the same time. They did a really good job of filming this
process, if I recall correctly. I found some information recently, by
poking around online.
Here's one site that talks about the show: Click
here.
The show was called "More Books From Cover To Cover." (There was also a
show called "Books From Cover To Cover.")
It "features one or two books, blending dramatic narration, artwork, sound
effects, and music to bring
the books to life. Host John Robbins introduces each book and the narration
takes viewers up to a crucial
point in the story. Students must read the book to learn the ending."
There are 16 15-min. programs (book titles) listed:
1. The Wish Giver
2. The Summer Birds
3. Won't Know Till I Get There
4. The Agony of Alice
5. Stone Fox
6. Mama's Going to Buy You a Mockingbird
7. The Ghost Squad Breaks Through/Who Kidnapped the Sherrif?
8. The Castle in the Attic
9. Babysitting is a Dangerous Job
10. Come Sing, Jimmy Jo
11. The Not Just Anybody Family
12. Tom's Midnight Garden
13. Midnight Is a Place
14. The Root Cellar
15. The Whipping Boy
16. The Dark is Rising
Some of those are books I'd love to see! The Dark is Rising and Tom's Midnight
Garden, along with The Castle
in the Attic are also books in my collection.
I doubt the host is the illustrator, but I can't find any other names associated
with the show, besides the
authors of the books.
These videos are apparently still used to teach langauge arts, and I think they
are probably obtainable in some way, since I've seen them listed on curriculum
websites. Check with a library, too.
Brittain's inscription and signature in the front of my copy of All the Money
in the World:
Books by Bill Brittain
(O=own, R=read, E=enjoyed)
- All the Money in the World (ORE)
- The Devil's Donkey
- Dr. Dredd's Wagon of Wonders
- The Fantastic Freshman: A Novel
- Hemi, a Mule
- The Ghost from Beneath the Sea
- My Buddy, the King: A Novel
- They Mystery of the Several Sevens
- Professor Popkin's Prodigious Polish: A Tale of Coven Tree
- Shape Changer
- The Wish Giver: Three Tales of Coven Tree (ORE)
- The Wizards and the Monster
- Who Knew There'd Be Ghosts
- Wings
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