Amelia Bedelia

If you have never read any of Peggy Parish’s Amelia Bedelia books, you are missing out.

Amelia Bedelia is a young woman with a heart of gold, but she cannot seem to do anything right.  In the first book, Amelia follows Mrs. Rogers’ instructions exactly, even though they don’t make sense to her – things like “dress the chicken,” and “change the towels.”  Amelia dresses the chicken in a cute little outfit, and takes a pair of scissors to the towels in order to change them.

When Mrs. Rogers comes home and sees what Amelia has done, she nearly blows a gasket, until she tastes Amelia’s pie.

My children and I have enjoyed many a laugh at Amelia’s expense – and learned a lesson or two about communication and the meaning of words.

The best thing is that there is a whole series of books which finds Amelia in many different situations (driving a car, teaching a class, etc) and doing it in her own special style – one which is bound to bring laughs to the readers.

The Amelia Bedelia books are also good for those learning English as a second language, because Parish explores the different meanings of words, phrases and idioms in an enjoyable way.