Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish with illustrations by Fritz Siebel is a funny, charming story about a maid who takes everything--everything--literally. The word play and puns are central to the story, an Amelia is a riot as she creates catastrophes in her new home.
The book is a picture book, with narration that relies heavily on meter, rhyme, and puns. The illustrations are in a line-centric impressionistic style with watercolor and inks, and are as quirky and funny as Amelia herself, serving to illustrate the puns visually.
Activities
- Chores! Make a list of chores you hear at home a lot. Now pretend you are Amelia Bedelia. What would happen? Would the house be a mess afterward?
- Shopping list. What does Amelia need throughout the book? Examples include a pencil and paper to draw the drapes. Make a list for Amelia!
- What should Amelia do? Pretend you are her teacher, and explain some of her chores to her.
- Acting out. Have one student be Amelia's boss, and another be Amelia. Go around the class and have the Boss assign chores, while Amelia has to make them funny and make mistakes.
- Pick one of the chores in the book, and do it two ways: The right way and the Amelia way. Which one is more fun? Which takes more work? Do you think Amelia would be tired?
Amelia Bedelia was one of my favorite characters growing up. The humor in the puns, the wordplay, and the hilarity and silliness demonstrated in the illustrations always make me laugh and smile--and still do! The stories are always told in a delightful way, and the illustrations really round out the visual puns as well. Similar books include Merry Christmas Amelia Bedelia, Amelia Bedelia and The Baby, both by Parish and Siebel as well, and Madeline by Ludwig Bemelman, which has a similarly loose European illustration style and simple, well metered narration.
Bibliography
Parish, Peggy; Siebel, Fritz. Amelia Bedelia. (1963) Greenwillow Books.
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