Be Good to Eddie Lee

by Virginia Fleming, Floyd Cooper (Illustrator)

Christy's mother always tells her to be good to Eddie Lee, a neighborhood child with Down's Syndrome. But Christy wants to run and play -- and not worry about Eddie Lee tagging along. One hot summer day, though, Eddie Lee takes Christy to a secret place in the woods and teaches her that beautiful things can be found in unexpected places.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Realistic Fiction, Disability, Childrens, Fiction, Love

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Mackenzie]

Be Good Eddie Lee, by Virginia Fleming, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper

This book is about a little boy, named Eddie Lee, who has down syndrome. Christy, his neighbor, was told to be good to Eddie Lee. Her and a boy named JimBud were headed to the lake in search of frog eggs, and noisy Eddie Lee follows. JimBud soon lost patience with Eddie Lee as he was loud and clumsy, and Christy soon lost patience with JimBud because there were no egg frogs in sight. Eddie Lee found the frog eggs and even surprised Christy with lilies. It was as if they had been friends all along. The problem in this story was the fact that JimBud and a little bit of Christy were excluding Eddie Lee from the fun; they were not giving him a chance to enjoy the lake. This book is more for upper elementary age students, because it gives more detail and it tends to be on the longer side gaining more attention from older grades than younger grades. The language style was easy to understand and was well picked for the creation of the book. However, this book caters more toward the upper grades due to the use of vocabulary.

I think the illustration did a good job highlighting the main events within the book. The illustrated used soft colors, which helped get the image of a warm, spring day.

The words in the book did stereotype the little boy with down syndrome. One character accused him of not being able to read. There is not really any cultural diversity within this particular children's book. All the characters are white, young children.

[Paige Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be Good to Eddie Lee is a book about a girl named Christy and a boy in her neighborhood named Eddie Lee. Eddie Lee is a child with down syndrome, who is not always well liked by Christy and her friend. One day Christy decides to go down to the river with her friend, and Eddie Lee tags along much to her disappointment. However, once they are there Eddie Lee show Christy this beautiful place he enjoys going to. Eddie Lee has a special interest in nature. Once he shows Christy his secret beautiful place, she begins to see Eddie Lee in a different light and appreciate him for who he is. This is a story of acceptance, and sometimes giving people a second chance or looking a people through a different perspective.

Be Good to Eddie Lee is a realistic fiction book. I am not sure if this book is written by an insider; however, I do feel that a lot of Eddie Lee's characteristics are fairly accurate. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and enhance the story by giving the character Eddie Lee life. Developmental age appropriateness for this book is spot on for kindergartners and 1st graders. This book will bring a message of acceptance and tolerance to them that I feel is extremely important at this age. In addition I believe that they will captured by the story about Christy and Eddie Lee.

[Jen Stapleton · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author gets so close and then doesn’t complete the moral of the story. Toes the line. But goes plenty far in the jerk-ness of uneducated children. Therefore I think this author could use some exposure and education before writing books on differently-abled kids. I dont just want kids to “be good to” or tolerate my daughter with Ds. I want them to learn to see her and include her just like every other kid. So close. Will not be sharing this with the children in our community as intended.

[Maria Grigoras · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be Good to Eddie Lee by Virginia Fleming is a realistic fiction picture book about a boy named Eddie Lee who has Down's Syndrome. A girl in the neighborhood, Christy, doesn't really like Eddie Lee and is disappointed when he tags along on a trip to the river with her and her friend. However, despite annoying them, Eddie Lee shows Christy how passionate and interested he is in nature. He shows Christy his secret place in nature that Christy has never seen and she begins to appreciate and view Eddie Lee differently.

This book highlights the theme of acceptance and not judging a book by its cover. This theme is applicable to kids entering elementary or middle school and noticing that not everyone looks or acts the same. Actually, it is very similar to the book Wonder by R.J. Palacio. The illustrations created by Floyd Cooper in Be Good to Eddie Lee are full bleed and pastel-like. They enhance the story by giving the character Eddie Lee a sense of life when he smiles. When the characters are by the river, you can especially notice how Eddie Lee lights up.

[Aryehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Christy and Jimbud are close friends. As they go about exploring a their world, searching for frog eggs, they (particularly Jimbud) do so at the exclusion of another local child, Eddie Lee. Eddie Lee has an intellectual disability. The other children, frequently underestimate what he can contribute as a person, and as a friend. It is when Eddie Lee shows Chirsty beautiful parts of the woods that she hadn't noticed before, and demonstrates his ability to think critically that she begins to notice that she had overlooked more than frogs eggs and the small pond. She had missed some of the complexities that make Eddie who he is. At the end of the story he puts his hand over his heart and proclaims, "It's what's here that counts."

Children are often cruel, and it is not uncommon for them to exclude children who are unlike them in their play without taking the time to get to know one another or have much regard for each other's feelings. This book is an excellent jump-off point for conducting conversations about treating others the way you would like to be treated, and also for conversations about passing preemptive expectations and casting judgement over other children.

Be Good to Eddie Lee was a perfect example of realistic fiction. The attitudes of the children concerning Eddie were true to many real-life experiences and I expect that children listening to this story will have much to consider about their attitudes with children who are different from them at the end of this tale. The story has a rich plot with healthy character development.As a reader I was able to identify with all three of the books main characters. Though the plot is very slow an easy-going, the story progression is not easy to guess. The dialogue is written in a Southern U.S dialect (they tell Eddie Lee to "git"). As a result, the child-friendliness of the language may depend somewhat on the region where the text is being read. I appreciated that Eddie Lee plays the hero in the story. It is refreshing that in a story about a child with a disability, he "saves"/surprises the other characters, rather than the story being about them and how they overcame their biases. For that reason I included this book in a set of books designed expose young children to people with disabilities in an effort to encourage empathy and understanding. The story's illustrations were as life-like as the tale itself. The illustrator did an excellent job of depicting beauty in nature where it may not have been easily imagined. The scene where Christy and Eddie find the pond in the swamp and realize how beautiful it is comes to mind, as swamps are not usually described as places of beauty. Eddie especially is carefully drawn in such a way that his character shared physical characteristics of a child with Down's Syndrome.

[Elyzabeth Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel this book should be read to any child that know someone with a disability. Reading this book to the child would help him/her understand that the child with a disability is just like them only a little different and they could become a good friend if they only try.
"Be Good to Eddie Lee" is about three neighborhood children during the summertime. One boy being Eddie Lee with down syndrome. The little girl in the story Christy mothers tell her to be nice to Eddie Lee that god had made him that way and god doesn't make mistakes.
The thrid little boy being JimBud the neighborhood bully. During the story JimBud discharges Christy to become friends with Eddie Lee and tells Eddie Lee to go away when there at the neighborhood pond. When Christy finally has enough of JimBud's bulling she follows Eddie Lee to a new pond hidden in the woods where she find fish eggs and a lily to pick to bring home to her mother.
Proving that if you give someone a chance they might just show you something that you have never seen before!!
Giving this book a numerical rating on a scale of 1 to 10. I would give this book a 10 and recommend reading it to children with a "special friend."

[Carley Grab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the message of this book gives it 5 stars immediately for me. In this story, Christy learns that although her neighbor Eddie Lee has Down syndrome, he is not so different from her, and he has a lot to offer the world. I have a brother three years younger than myself who has Down syndrome, and just seeing that this book exited made me so incredibly happy. I was given this book when I was in 1st grade. It made me so happy then and it still brings tears to my eyes every time I see it. Cooper's illustrations are a beautiful accompaniment to Flemming's simple, touching story. Nothing huge happens in the story, no massive plot twists or epic journeys, it is merely two children hanging out one summer day. However, to Eddie Lee, this one moment of friendship probably meant the world, and Christy undoubtedly grew from the experience as well. I love how Cooper does not try to down play Eddie features that are characteristic of Down syndrome. If anything, he accentuates them. Both images and text capture Eddie's pure, wholesome outlook on life in this story that is hard not to love.

[Anna Daga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fleming’s “Be good to Eddie Lee” captures an importance to support, accept and have tolerance for kids who are different. It is a wonderful story that teaches children the importance of having empathy/ kindness to special needs children, as well as accepting these children in their circle of friends. The book is a great source to demonstrate that applying equal treatment to the members of our society is one of the key morals of a good citizen. “Be Good to Eddie Lee” can prove to children that being different does not imply the negative meaning.

In this story, Eddie Lee neighbors with another kid Christy, who is reluctant to accept Eddie Lee in her circle of friends. Christy’s mom tells her to be good to Eddie because he is different, because God made him that way. In the meantime, Christy teams up with her friend JimBud to explore the nearby lake and its wilderness, when they both realize they had been followed by Eddie Lee. Despite witnessing JimBud’s attempts to push Eddie Lee away, Christy decides to join Eddie and discovers his unconditional goodness and friendship.

[Victoria Leininger-halpern · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this book was very good and can teach kids a very important lesson in treating others how you want to be treated. This story is about a little girl with a neighbor who has down syndrome. At first she is mean to him and doesn't want him hanging out with her and her friends, but in the end she realizes he is a good person, and he is special and that's all that matters in being friends with someone.

I love the illustrations in this book, they are very realistic but muted at the same time, with warm colors and not too bold.

I think this story is very good to read to kids of all ages, and can teach them acceptance and important lessons in friendship and treating others how you want to be treated.

[Stephanie Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Be Good to Eddie Lee" tells the story of an incredible friendship between Christy and her neighbor Eddie Lee who has Down syndrome. Christy does not want to be Eddie Lee's friend in the beginning, but her mother tells her she needs to be. Because of this, she ends up being kind to him and developing a friendship that she did not expect. This book is a perfect book to use in a classroom setting. When students that have disabilities are included in the general education classroom, like they should be, there is many times other students leave them out or are not accepting of them. This book could be used to teach that students with disabilities need friends, just the same way everyone else needs friends. Disabilities do not define a person and should not define a friendship either.

[Andrew]

Be good to Eddie Lee Is a fictional story of a girl named Christy who is always around a boy named Eddie Lee. While at first Christy does not like Eddie Lee because of his down’s syndrome, after her mother makes her play with Eddie Lee she finds out he is a very kind and wonderful person. I thought this book was great, it does not sugar coat how some kids may feel about people with down’s syndrome and it give a very accurate portal of down’s syndrome through Eddie. The story shows that Eddie has problems making friends and he deals with bullying. But it also shows that if given time those with Down’s syndrome can be just like anyone else and can become a good friend. This book is appropriate for students in kindergarten to fifth grade.

[Melissa Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be Good to Eddie Lee helps to show some of the ways that children often interact with other children who have disabilities. Eddie Lee is a boy with Down Syndrome who just wants to play with his neighbor Christy and her friend JimBud. Christy is always trying to avoid Eddie Lee and JimBud bullies Eddie Lee by calling him names. Christy is not mean because her mother warned her to be good to him, but she does not realize why she should befriend Eddie Lee until the end of the story. This book shows how children with Down Syndrome are often treated by their peers, but also all of the valuable things that they have to offer. The illustrations in this book are beautiful and the story is realistic and touching. I think this book would be great from children of all ages to be exposed to.

[Sarah Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christy's mother always tells her to "Be nice to Eddie Lee". Eddie Lee is a boy in her neighborhood with Down Syndrome. One day, Christy goes out with her other friend to the pod to find frog eggs. Eddie Lee follows them and ends up showing them where all the frog eggs are and how beautiful the world is.

I loved this book because it had gorgeous illustrations and the message of the story was very up-lifting. I also loved that one of the main characters had a disability.

I would read this to my class to show that even though someone has a disability, that doesn't meant that they can't or wouldn't be a good friend.

[Susan Huddleston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Text to World

Be Good to Eddie Lee is a must read for all. This book should be used to teach about diversity, inclusion, and how to treat others. It shows how easily it is to hurt someone’s feelings and to misjudge them. Eddie Lee has Downs Syndrome and was made fun of and called names. Yet he still showed how caring and thoughtful he was. He was able to show his friend, Christy, how beautiful nature is and that we should not bother it.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very sweet, and the behavior and actions of the children are realistic. Today's parents will have to decide for themselves whether the bullying engaged in by one kid will be too mean for their charges to handle; it is depicted as wrong, however.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ableism in picture book form. Eddie Lee is repeatedly insulted and demeaned by other kids and no alternate perspective is offered... He still has to help the kids who insulted him to serve the story.

[Deja Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie is lonesome and no one pays attention to him because he is different. He only has one friend named Christy who is asked by her mother to be nice to Eddie, but she does not like Eddie following her around all summer. On one hot summer day, JimBud invites Christy to go wading and looking for frog eggs but does not want Eddie to go with them. Overtime, Christy realizes that JimBud has made up a story about finding frog eggs because he wants Christy to come with him. Meanwhile, Eddie is the person who finds beautiful lilies and frog eggs for Christy, and teaches her a lesson, “Do not steal the creature from nature.” Although Eddie says few words, I like how this book made me look more at the children who didn't have a disability to make me see the many biases, judgments, and prejudices people have towards people with disabilities. Towards the end, Eddie teaches Christy a lesson by not being rude or mean, but y talking to her and telling her right from wrong. This is Ms. Fleming’s first book for children and the story was inspired by her close friendship with a person who has Down syndrome. She honestly portrays the feelings, sensitivities and honesty in children with Down syndrome. This book is very realistic from the illustrations, the language use, and the general attitudes people have when they work with children with disabilities. Just like the text, people who interact with children who have a disability often treat them as if they aren't human or as if they are in need of saving. This story not only depicts how individuals with Down syndrome cope with other people, but it shows how people who aren't educated on disabilities will treat those who do unfairly for no reason. Even though the book doesn't showcase a diverse background or race, it gives a sense of diverse perspectives and how those perspectives change over time.

[Chloe Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary: Eddie Lee has Down Syndrome, and he is neighbors to a girl named Christy, and another boy named JimBob. Christy’s mother always tells her to be good to Eddie Lee. One day in the summer, JimBob and Christy take a walk down to the pond to try and find frog eggs. Eddie wants to come along, however they don’t really want him to and insist he stay home. Eddie proceeds to stay home, until he comes and joins them at the pond. Christy and JimBob couldn’t find any frog eggs, but Eddie helps to show them how pretty the lilies are in the pond. Jimbob makes fun of him repeatedly, and he runs off. Christy chases after him and Eddie takes her to another pond that has even more lilies and frog eggs! She grows to appreciate the little things like Eddie does and they take home some lilies for mama


Likes/Dislikes: I thought this book was really sweet and the illustrations were gorgeous! I love when there is a soft warm feel to the art. The boy, JimBob said some hurtful things to Eddie Lee, calling him dumb, and that he doesn’t know how to spell. I think the book shows us to not be mean to people based on their appearance, so I wouldn’t have taken anything out of the book. It is a beautiful book. I think that the author does a good job to show the hesitancy in Christy, as she doesn’t really want anything to do with Eddie, but she slowly learns that he is sweet and kind and is an amazing human being.



Classroom usage: I would use the book to show kids that what matters is the heart, and the character of a person rather than what they look like. Even though someone might look different, we should never judge someone by their looks.

[Prabhat sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Be Good to Eddie Lee (Hardcover) by Virginia Fleming, Illustrator- Floyd Cooper, Hindi language translation by Vidushak, Children’s Illustrated Colour Picture Book- The book narrates the story of Eda child suffering from Down’s syndrome. Christy a girl of the same age resides near his residence. Christy's mother always tells her to be good to Eddie Lee. But Christy wants to run and play with Jim-Bud. She does not worry about Eddie Lee who is tagging along with them on the promise to show frog’s eggs but he is unable to show her. Eddie Lee takes Christy to a secret place in the woods and teaches her that beautiful things can be found in unexpected places. Here they find frog’s eggs and beautiful flowers. Eddie Lee has a special interest in nature. Once he shows Christy his secret beautiful place, she begins to see Eddie Lee in a different light and appreciate him for who he is. This is a story of acceptance, and sometimes giving people a second chance or looking a people through a different perspective. Coloured illustrations help the reader in relating to the story. I have read the Hindi language translation of this book.

[Marci Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are very few books that represent children with exceptional needs, though almost every child has dealt with the conviction of knowing you should be nice to those children, but selfishly wanting to avoid them. That is why I think this book would be valuable to incorporate as a read-aloud. It tells the story of a girl who is faced with hanging out with a “cool” boy with a cold heart, or Eddie Lee, a boy with Down’s Syndrome. The girl discovers that Eddie Lee has the biggest heart of all, and is able to find exactly what she is looking for. As the girl in the story finds friendship with Eddie Lee, I think students being read this story might be able to start to see their peers with exceptional needs in a different light as well.
a. Author: Virginia Fleming
b. Illustrator: Floyd Cooper
c. Publisher: Philomel Books
d. Date: 1993
e. Genre: Didactic Realistic Fiction

[Amy Clausen · Rating 1 out of 5]

"Christy's mother always tells her to be good to Eddie Lee, a neighborhood child with Down's Syndrome. But Christy wants to run and play -- and not worry about Eddie Lee tagging along. One hot summer day, though, Eddie Lee takes Christy to a secret place in the woods and teaches her that beautiful things can be found in unexpected places."

-Very outdated—1993. Main character Christy is told to “be good to” Eddie Lee, her neighbor with Down syndrome. Christy’s friend JimBud is cruel to him, and there are no consequences. Eddie Lee is pretty stereotypic—always happy and friendly. In the author’s note, the phrase, “Down’s syndrome child” is used twice. Do not recommend.
-Children’s picture book; 380 Lexile; AR 3.6

[Samantha Beaujour · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. None.
2. Pre k- 2nd grade.
3. A girl in the neighborhood, Christy, doesn't really like Eddie Lee and is disappointed when he tags along on a trip to the river with her and her friend. However, despite annoying them, Eddie Lee shows Christy how passionate and interested he is in nature.
4. This book highlights the theme of acceptance and not judging a book by its cover. Treating everyone the same is always the best thing to do. This book shows that you should be kind to everyone, always.
5. Discuss the word acceptance and read other books with this theme, write down and discuss some similarities between themselves and Eddie Lee.

[Shaquira DesDune · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a boy named Eddie Lee who has Down Syndrome. His neighbors, Jimbud and Christy are not nice to him even though Christy knows better, because her mom has always told her to be good to Eddie Lee. Eddie Lee wants to be friends with the Christy and Jimbud so he follows them on their adventures. Eddie Lee and Christy become close as they hunt for different water lilies and creatures. It teaches children to be kind to children with disabilities, they too can make GREAT friends. It also reminds children to be themselves. Its ok to be unique. Great read! The Illustrator did an amazing job as well.

[Stevie Cupp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I felt like it taught a good lesson about inclusion and diversity. Down syndrome might not be a thing that all children are familiar with, so this educates them on the topic. When a child reads this, the next time they see a child with down syndrome, they might approach them and have a conversation instead of avoiding them because they look different.

[Cathy Sheetz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eddie Lee is a child with downs syndrome who follows two kids into the woods. The kids are annoyed at first by him, but he shows them things about the woods that they had missed.

This is a good book for 1st through 4th grade in discussing differences as well as downs syndrome. I would keep it in the classroom library of 2nd through 5th grade.

[Alexis Sillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for elementary school kids who are just learning that not everyone is born the same, people are different. It shows the right way and the wrong way on how to treat someone with a disorder, Down Syndrome in this case. The warm colors and illustrations are beautiful and compliment the story well. I recommend everyone reads this book at some point in their lives.

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated book. A few words and phrases irked me, but I think the author did a good job of capturing how most children react to a child with Down Syndrome. It also shows children a good example of friendship. I hope this book helps my kids remember their Great Uncle who had Down Syndrome.

[Elizabeth Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book covers a very deep topic and brings up a lot of emotions. The illustrations take up the whole page and help convey the meaning of the book. This would be great to read to a classroom of elementary school kids to help them understand children that may be different than them.

[Erika Schissler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Be Good to Eddie Lee emphasizes that it is important to be kind to everyone no matter how different they may be from you. It also lets kids know that they do not always have to do what their friends tell them to do even if it means their friends may be mad at them.

[Hannah Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just because someone is different, it doesn't mean that you can't be friends. You may be surprised that they can show you things that you haven't seen. Sometimes that person will be a really good friend to you.