Edwardo is an ordinary boy who does his best to live up to grown-ups' expectations. So when they rant at him for being the clumsiest, noisiest, nas...
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Jan 01, 2011
Petra X
rated it: 
This is a story about a typically-naughty, noisy, dirty little boy who lives down to every expectation voiced to him. He's told he's the noisiest, the dirtiest, the rudest, the wickedest little boy and so he becomes so. Through a series of fortuitious accidents, such as throwing his clothes out of the window instead of tidying his room and his clothes landing on a truck collecting clothes for charity, he gets a lot of praise and he lives up to that too. He eventually ends up the nicest little b
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3 comments
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(4 people liked it)
Oct 04, 2008
Amanda
rated it: 
Kind of a cute idea, although I'm not sure about the message. Basically when he was doing things that he thought were being mean, like pouring a bucket of water on a dog, he was thanked for it because the owner said the dog was dirty and needed a bath. No real explanation for how doing something mean goes to being thanked for it and then... being asked to have more responsibility, ie watching kids, taking care of dogs in the neighborhood, etc. OK, but shaky in terms of it's teaching...
Apr 25, 2011
Vivian
rated it:
Edwardo lives up to people's expectations. Edwardo is told he is the roughest, noisiest, nastiest, cruelest, messiest, clumsiest, dirtiest, most rude boy in the whole wide world. As you can see, one criticism leads to another in an exponential fashion and there he is--just what everybody said. Then, one day everything changed. He was doing one of his outrageous tricks when something good accidently happened, someone saw it and commented about it. So he did more of that one good thing and ev
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Jul 15, 2010
Shannon
rated it: 
Fantastic book about positive encouragement.
Edwardo is a normal boy, and like normal boys he sometimes acts up....kicking things, chasing things, etc. All the grown-ups tell him he is the Horriblest boy in the WORLD! until one day when he kicks a pot of flowers and it lands in some dirt, and a kind grown-up sees him starting a garden...so then, Edwardo becomes good at gardening...and so on, until Edwardo is the nicest boy in the whole world.
I love love love John Burning More...
Edwardo is a normal boy, and like normal boys he sometimes acts up....kicking things, chasing things, etc. All the grown-ups tell him he is the Horriblest boy in the WORLD! until one day when he kicks a pot of flowers and it lands in some dirt, and a kind grown-up sees him starting a garden...so then, Edwardo becomes good at gardening...and so on, until Edwardo is the nicest boy in the whole world.
I love love love John Burning More...
Jan 10, 2010
Dolly
rated it: 
While I think our girls got something out of this book, I'm not sure it was the right idea. They thought that perhaps some good will come out of their naughtiness, even if only by accident. I, however, saw that negative critcism only reinforced Edwardo's bad behavior and positive compliments encouraged his good behavior. Bad begets more bad; good begets more good. I get it, like a punch between the eyes, especially after yelling at our girls for being naughty all day. Sigh... tomorrow's ano
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Aug 09, 2010
Patricia
rated it:
This book illustrates my deeply held belief that the words you use with people determine in large part how they behave. If you tell a child he or she is rough, noisy, nasty, cruel, messy, or dirty, they will become more so. However, if you tell a child they are good at growing things, or good with animals, or generous, clean, smart, good with children, they truly will become the nicest children in the whole wide world!
Jul 01, 2011
Randie
rated it:
Burningham uses watercolors, pencil sketches, and an ordinary boy to remind readers about the power of their words.
We often forget about the impact that our words have on others, especially children; this book is a nice way to address the topic.
We often forget about the impact that our words have on others, especially children; this book is a nice way to address the topic.
May 03, 2010
Kirstan
rated it:
I think it is a good book for parents, teachers, nannies . . . basically anyone that takes care of a child. If you were told this over and over again you'd start to believe it was true. Makes me so sad. Poor Edwardo!!
Jul 12, 2011
Nicole
rated it:
Edwardo is messy and an adult tells him he's the messiest kid in the word. So he becomes messier and messier. Repeat with rude, cruel, dirty, etc and we observe how kids live up to our expectations of them.
Apr 30, 2011
Nancy
rated it:
I am not really sure what I think about reading this story to children.... It is more a cautionary tale for adults! And the adults in this story say terrible, exaggerated things to this boy!
Feb 05, 2012
Dee-Ann
rated it:
This book has potential of beinbg liked a lot, but I think it was too late when I read it to my boys. May try again.
Sep 15, 2010
Cana
rated it:
Mommy says: People live up (or down) to your expectations, told here about a boy named Edwardo. Perfect.
Sep 15, 2010
Finny
rated it:
Mommy says: People live up (or down) to your expectations, told here about a boy named Edwardo. Perfect.
Mar 03, 2011
Laura
rated it:
I love this book that wraps up my philosophy of children and adults so neatly... awesome.
Apr 28, 2011
Emily
rated it:
This is a delightfully universal story with an English flair about the power of language. What we say does matter, and it shapes the reality of those around us, especially the young and impressionable.
[spoilers] (Yes, really.)
Whenever Edwardo does something wrong, adults employ hyperbole to tell him how awful he is. And so he becomes. Until some other adults use different language to describe some of his happy accidents. He becomes normal/wonderful again.
[spoilers] (Yes, really.)
Whenever Edwardo does something wrong, adults employ hyperbole to tell him how awful he is. And so he becomes. Until some other adults use different language to describe some of his happy accidents. He becomes normal/wonderful again.
3 comments
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(2 people liked it)
May 12, 2009
Amy
rated it:
Great because Edwardo becomes what people tell him he'll become: rude, dirty, cruel, etc. Then, quite by accident, Edwardo discovers that he can also become kind, responsible, clean, etc. In the end, he's nicest boy in the whole wide world.
Jun 23, 2008
Kristin
rated it:
This book is a great example of self-fulfilling prophecy. What Edwardo is labeled as he then becomes. Great great book.
Feb 03, 2009
Khris
rated it:
Good book about a boy gone bad going good again---all through the power of words.
Aug 19, 2011
