Everyone was gathered in the cafeteria for lunch, so Freddie decided it was the perfect moment to show off the grisly gash on his leg. He thought the scar was cool and impressive. But Freddie thought wrong. No one was impressed, but they were grossed out. That’s Freddie the Fly. He assumes everyone sees, thinks, and feels the exact same way he does. And it’s becoming a problem. The lunch lady demanded Freddie make a beeline to the nurse’s office. Freddie wasted no time telling Nurse Mantis about how he made his leg the center of lunchroom attention. Rather than just treating the cut, however, Nurse Mantis diagnosed Freddie’s real problem – his vision! He struggles seeing any perspective other than his own. Freddie didn’t realize the nasty-looking scratch would be stomach-churning to anyone who just wanted to eat. Just like he didn’t understand why Mesquita had swatted at him that morning (too self-absorbed!) or why his best buddy dumped him as a project partner (too overbearing!). To help Freddie be more empathetic, sensitive, and understanding toward the opinions, attitudes and feelings of others, Nurse Mantis encourages him to use “perspective-taking lenses.” Will that switch Freddie’s outlook from ME to WE? Or will he continue to annoy his friends and family by seeing every situation from only one side – his? A special page written specifically for parents and educators offers practical tips on helping kids develop their perspective-taking skills so they will be more open to and aware of the feelings and thoughts of others.

Freddie doesn’t realize it’s a very bad idea to show off an icky-looking scar in the middle of the lunchroom. And why he’s slow to understand that his loud behaviors are annoying, and his overbearing attitude is maddening. When the school nurse encourages Freddie to put on “perspective-taking lenses” and Mom suggests he walk in other people’s shoes, will Freddie finally start to become more open to and understanding of the thoughts and feelings of others?

Freddie returns with quite the conundrum! He keeps missing social cues, so he misunderstands what people mean, and then he finds himself in a mess. He just doesn't get that there's a lot more to communication than the words that people say. Fortunately for our favorite fly, he has his dad and Principal Roachford available to teach him avout connecting the communication dots, including voice tone, facial expressions and body language.

While traveling with his parents to visit his grandmother, Nicky befriends a fly that helps him out when he's in trouble.

Who could guess that a common, ordinary, every day fly could be special. Freddie The Fly teaches us the lesson to learn before our own habits take us down a misadventure.

A Story About Learning to Listen. Freddie the Fly likes to talk and talk. He's so busy buzzing about the latest gossip, he can't listen to anyone else. Freddie doesn't realize how much of a chatterbox he is until he meets Mesquita. Her mile-a-minute mouth makes Freddie seem like a mute. Appropriate for readers in pre-k to third-grade, this colorful storybook teaches kids how to control their conversations and be excited about listening to, and learning from, others.

Freddie the Fly’s friend Stella the Stinkbug has a problem. Or lots of problems. Some problems are big, and some are small. But every time she faces a problem, she reacts the same way. She Bugs out. And you know what happens when a stink bug bugs out? It causes a Big Stink! With help from Mrs. Monarch, Stella and Freddie learn about different kinds of problems: Big problems, Meh problems, and No Bigs. Each problem has an appropriate reaction. Mrs. Monarch teaches Stella and Freddie two important questions to ask themselves, and then the problem solving can begin! Follow along as Freddie and Stella learn to control their reactions to different problems, and to keep small problems small so they can be easily solved.