Virginia Fleming

"Be Good to Eddie Lee" is heartwarming and beautiful. The illustrations capture the essence of Eddie Lee with popsicle running down his leg and the beauty of nature around them. Although rated PK-3 this book would be best used as a read aloud with its more advanced vocabulary and descriptive word choices. This book explores the uninterrupted interaction of three children exploring the woods and ponds by their homes. It gives a glimpse into how children with Down Syndrome are often viewed as show more mistakes, dumb, or spoken to in a rude way by other children who haven't taken the time to know them. Throughout the book, the child who was mean to Eddie Lee becomes the outcast after Eddie Lee is the one to find the frog eggs and lily pads that Christy had been looking for all along. "Be Good to Eddie Lee" is a great display of affection, friendliness, and the desire to please, which are common attributes of many children with Down Syndrome. show less

Eddie Lee is a child with disabilities who has some neighborhood peers who are not quite accepting of him. They call him names and make it an effort to not associate with Eddie Lee for too long. This book teaches lessons of acceptance and friendship. Although Eddie Lee was disabled and mistreated, his peers overlooked the fact that he was highly intelligent. Despite their mistreatment towards them, Eddie Lee chose to be friends with the young girl in the book, and he saw the good in her, show more accepting her for who she was. show less

A beautifully illustrated book focusing on the importance of being kind to others, especially those who are limited in their ability to function as highly as others.

Two young friends, Christy and JimBud are having a fun day together walking in the woods looking for frog eggs and other things located in that environment.

When Eddie Lee sees them, he very much wants to be with them. Tagging along, noisy and stomping feet is behavior manifested by Eddie Lee. But, this behavior only infuriates show more JimBud and he repeatedly tries to get rid of Eddie Lee. Christy reminds him to be kind to Eddie Lee.

JimBud spins around when Eddie Lee is following them. "GET, Eddie Lee! "GET HOME"! Hurt by these comments, Eddie Lee becomes very sad and walks toward his house.

Again, Christy tells JimBud to be kind and stop hurting Eddie's feelings.

It is Eddie Lee who finds the frog legs, and it is Christy who he tells he likes her anyway when her image in the pond is distorted by the ripples placed there!

Floyd Cooper is a wonderful illustrator. I've read may of his books. And, Virginia Fleming wrote a beautiful story which reminds children that not everyone is the same, and what is held in your heart that matters the most! show less

There are a couple reasons I really liked this book. One reason was the illustrations. The illustrations took up the whole entire page and went across the two pages. The illustrations help pull you into the setting. You get the sense that the book maybe takes place in the south and that it is in the past because of the colors and the textures that are portrayed. When Eddie Lee jumps into the water you can see the ripples and water droplet's that are splashing out. Another reason that I liked show more this story is the big idea. The message in this story is that it only takes one nice person to make someone feel like they are included. At first, Christy leaves Eddie Lee out and tries to exclude him just because one of her friends is. She doesn't let him come down to the pond with them because her friend says that they shouldn't. Then she realizes that she wants to be Eddie's friend and that it doesn't matter if he's a little different. show less