Amelia Bedelia

Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish, Pictures by Fritz Siebel

Picture book/short novel for children ages 7-10

5 out of 5 stars

Amelia Bedelia is recently hired to work as a housekeeper for Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. On her first day, Amelia takes everything written down on her to do list in the literal sense when she changes the towels and dusts the furniture, along with many other chores. Thankfully her lemon meringue pie is delicious as this is what allows her to keep her job!

I find this story absolutely hilarious. This story is brought to life mostly through the illustrations, as they give away what Amelia is truly up to. For example, when Mrs. Rogers asks Amelia to dress the chicken, we know that Mrs. Rogers wants her to get the chicken ready to be cooked, but instead Amelia gets out some fabric and creates an outfit to fit the chicken, and literally dresses the chicken. The reader would not know this if he or she did not have the illustrations to accompany the text because all the text states is, “ ‘Now I must dress the chicken, I wonder if she wants a he chicken or a she chicken,’ said Amelia Bedelia. Amelia Bedelia went right to work. Soon the chicken was finished.” (Parish, 42). Without looking at the picture of Amelia Bedelia cutting fabric and creating an outfit for the chicken, the reader would not understand what exactly is going on. Any book that has interaction between text and illustrations makes it an enjoyable read. The wonderful and hysterical story line of Amelia Bedelia would make any reader, new or experienced want to read. Due to the connection between the illustrations and the words on the pages, the illustrations serve as scaffolding for those readers who are just learning how to read.

I remember reading this particular story along with many others in the Amelia Bedelia collection and enjoyed the experience each and every time I read them. Due to this fact, I definitely want to have this book as a part of my personal classroom library in the future. Any book that helps students really enjoy reading is a book worthy of place in my classroom. If I am teaching second or third grade I might use this book in literature circles for the appropriate reading level groups. Students would read this story, possible along with other Amelia Bedelia books, then the students would think of many different tasks or words that take on multiple meanings. This connection could also be made to a lesson on homonyms. Regardless of the way this book gets used, it will always have a place in my heart and in my classroom.

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