Amelia Bedelia takes things literally. Have the children write down some examples of things that could be mistaken and taken literally.

When the new teacher is late, Amelia Bedelia ends up teaching the class. She has a list of things to do, but as usual, she has a little trouble interpreting it. When she reads that she should 'call roll,' she takes a round piece of bread and yells at it! When she reads 'run, run' in a book, she follows the order and runs until the children catch her! When she reads that the children should 'plant bulbs,' she goes to the store to buy lightbulbs. When she reads that they should 'paint pictures,' she takes the nice pictures off the wall and has the kids paint all over them. Amelia Bedelia's last feat is to do math problems about apples. She takes the kids back to the Rogers' house and has them outside playing with apples! Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, along with the principal and the new teacher, are a little upset with Amelia Bedelia initially, but they soon come to realize how fun she is and how delicious her caramel apples are.

This is an example of realistic fiction. It is not very realistic in that it wouldn't really happen, but it is more believable than a fantasy. The characters are believable, including Amelia, for the most part. I wouldn't say it's the best example of realistic fiction or fantasy, but a sort of a good mixture.
The plot is well established. The humor keeps the reader engaged and wondering what Amelia will be confused about next. The reader wants to believe, I think, that something like this could happen, so they keep reading to see how it gets resolved. The humor and the fast pace keeps the reader well engaged.
Age Appropriateness: Primary
Media: Pencil

Best of the Amelia Bedelia Stories. ( )

Amelia Bedelia is funny and a good choice for young girls. This series would be good for ESL students, since Amelia Bedelia confuses homonyms and figures of speech. Some of the expressions will be unfamiliar to modern readers, but they will still enjoy Amelia's confusion once they understand it.