BE GOOD TO EDDIE LEE

``God didn't make mistakes, and Eddie Lee was a mistake if there ever was one,'' muses Christy, trying to justify her reluctance to be kind as Mama has said; and with her friend JimBud, she sets out to look for frogs' eggs, hoping to evade the Down's syndrome boy. Cheerfully ignoring their scorn, Eddie Lee tags along, wades in with his shoes on to try (unsuccessfully) to get a waterlily, then takes Christy to a little pond she hadn't known was there to find both lilies and tadpoles—which Eddie Lee urges leaving there, lest their mother be sad; he's also first sees the beauty of the lilies and the humor in Christy's reflection, distorted by ripples. ``I like you, anyway,'' he assures her, affirming his own humanity, too. What makes Fleming's first book so effective are the carefully selected detail and authentic portrayal of the children's attitudes—as well as Cooper's luminous full-bleed art, summoning up all the enchantment of a lovely summer day and presenting Eddie Lee as believably endearing. (Picture book. 4-8)