COSBY CASTS WARPED MIRROR ON CHILDHOOD

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, January 12, 1992                   TAG: 9201120241
SECTION: HORIZON                    PAGE: B-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Reviewed by SARA ZEEK
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
COSBY CASTS WARPED MIRROR ON CHILDHOOD
CHILDHOOD. By Bill Cosby. Putnam. $14.95.
With the aid of a warped looking glass, Bill Cosby reflects on his youth in "Childhood."
His hyperbole and dry wit are as outrageous in print as they are in any other medium. His adventures with Fat Albert, Weird Harold and Russell will be familiar to those readers who once sat in front the television every Saturday at noon, waiting to hear, "Hey, hey, hey, it's Fat Albert." Since most of those readers are now old enough to be parents, they will appreciate Cosby's view of parenting and the changes that have occurred in recent years.
As Cosby puts it, "The only difference between the childhood I lived and childhood today is that I didn't expect my parents to be social directors for me. I was never bored; children began to be bored only in July of 1963."
He offers other bits of wisdom, beginning with a revelation about his origins: "As I have discovered by examining my past, I started out as a child." He covers sibling rivalry - "I can touch your raggedy old body anytime I want to" - and the frustration of parenting - "... and I'm not even gonna ask you where all that water in the bed came from."
"Childhood" is not for children. It takes a measurable degree of maturity to laugh at the situations that once were certain disasters.
As always, Cosby shares with his audience a lesson for life: Both children and parents have to make mistakes to grow.
Seeing ourselves in Cosby's warped mirror just makes it more fun.

Sara Zeek lives in Clifton Forge.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB