Amelia Bedelia (book)
|
Cover of the first edition | |
| Author | Peggy Parish |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Fritz Siebel |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Amelia Bedelia |
| Genre | Children's picture book, comedy |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
Publication date | 1963 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover) |
| Pages | 32 unnumbered |
| OCLC | 301683 |
| LC Class | PZ7.P219 Am[1] |
| Followed by | Thank You, Amelia Bedelia |
Amelia Bedelia is the first book in the Amelia Bedelia children's picture book series about a housekeeper who takes her instructions literally. It was written by Peggy Parish and published in 1963. Holt Rinehart and Winston adapted this and several other books in the series for its I Can Read! line of beginning books. Over 35 million copies of books in the series have been sold.[2] A 50th anniversary edition was published in 2013 which includes author's notes and archive photos. The first two chapter books in the series written by Peggy's nephew, Herman Parish, were published to coincide with the anniversary, focusing on the young Amelia Bedelia.[3]
The idea for the book came from Peggy's third-grade students at the Dalton School in Manhattan who tended to confuse vocabulary, often with comic results.[4] A housekeeper at her grandparents' home, where she often played as a child, was likely the inspiration for one as the protagonist.[5]
Synopsis
Amelia Bedelia is hired as a maid for the wealthy Rogers family. Despite meaning well, she can't seem to do anything right because she does not understand the vernacular used by them. Mrs. Rogers gives her a list of chores to complete while they go out for the day. After choosing to make a lemon meringue pie to be nice, she proceeds to take all the chores literally: she "dresses the chicken" in tiny clothes, "drawing the drapes" on a piece of paper, dusts (rather than undusts) the furniture, and "puts the lights out" by hanging them on the clothesline.
When the Rogers return home, Mrs. Rogers is bewildered that none of the chores are done. On the verge of firing Amelia, she has a bite of her pie shoved in her mouth, and finds it so delicious she forgives her and decides to keep her—but vows to write more explicit instructions in the future.[6]
The List
Amelia's list went like this...and listed is what she did.
- Put the lights out - Took all the light bulbs out of their sockets and hung them on the clothesline
- Dust the furniture - Literally threw dust on the furniture with dusting powder (in her house they "undust" furniture)
- Change the towels in the green bathroom - Used scissors to change the towels' look
- Draw the drapes when the sun comes in - Drew a picture of the drapes
- Measure two cups of rice - Poured rice in two coffee cups, stacked them, measured them with a tape measure, and dumped the rice back in the box
- Trim the fat on the steak - Puts lace and ribbons around the steak
- Dress the chicken - Puts clothes on the chicken
(The last two things she was still allowed to do in the future.)
References
- ↑ "Amelia Bedelia". LC Online Catalog. Library of Congress (lccn.loc.gov). Retrieved 2016-02-18.
- ↑ Lodge, Sally (29 November 2012). "Amelia Bedelia Turns 50". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
- ↑ Kim, Susanna (29 January 2013). "Amelia Bedelia Turns 50 With a New Look". ABC News. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
- ↑ MacPherson, Karen (26 March 2013). "Children's Corner: Celebrating 50 Years of Amelia Bedelia". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
- ↑ Rullo, Gina. "Happy Birthday, Amelia Bedelia! An interview with Herman Parish". firstbook.org. Retrieved 11 June 2013.
- ↑ http://www.shelfari.com/books/129715/Amelia-Bedelia
External links
- Meet Amelia Bedelia at Harper Collins Children's
- Amelia Bedelia word search game at I Can Read!
- Amelia Bedelia trivia game at Kidsreads.com
- A Guide for Using Amelia Bedelia in the Classroom, created as a teacher's resource by Mary Bolte