Amelia Bedelia

Amelia Bedelia, that all-too-willing housemaid whose literal nature embroils her in countless scrapes whilst employed in the Rogers household, made her debut in 1963, in this first of numerous hilarious adventures. Eager to please and ready to work, she arrives on the job one morning, only to discover that Mrs. Rogers must run out, and has prepared a list of tasks for her complete. Unfortunately (or not, for the amused reader), while "dusting the furniture" or "putting the lights out" might seem like simple matters to some, for Amelia Bedelia they are rather puzzling affairs. Still, she is nothing if not obliging...

I loved reading the Amelia Bedelia books when I was a little girl, laughing at the heroine's many mix-ups, and relishing show more the knowledge that I, the child reader, knew better than the adult character what should be done. It was a pleasure to revisit her amusing antics as part of our November Picture-Book Club reading, as our theme this month has been "Classic Picture Book Characters." The combination of hilarious misunderstanding and subtly educational word-play make this a true classic in the field, one that will entertain child readers, even as it leads them to consider the multiple meanings that words can have, and the mistakes that can occur if one is ignorant of all idiomatic expressions, and interprets everything literally. Highly recommended to all beginning readers, whether they are a little literal themselves, or whether they just enjoy a good laugh. show less

Amelia Bedelia won my heart many years ago when I was a youngster learning to read. This book always cracks me up reading it as an adult because many of the terms used are not terms kids are familiar with anymore. It is her first day of work at the Rogers' mansion. She can't believe what a grand house they have. When she reads the list that Mrs. Rogers left her, she gets right to work. But in true Amelia fashion, she gets very confused and does things the wrong way. She cuts up the towels to change them, pours dust all over the furniture to dust the room, and draws a picture of the drapes instead of drawing the drapes. The best was when she dressed the bird in actual clothing. The Rogers debate firing her, but when they smell her lemon show more pie, they can't bear to see her go. show less

I really enjoyed reading this book for several reasons. To begin, the illustrations in the story truly enhanced my understanding of the house in which Amelia Bedelia was cleaning. Not only were the pictures incredibly detailed, but were also coinciding with the narration perfectly. Had the illustrations been left out of the story, I feel I would not have grasped the chores Amelia Bedelia was instructed to do very well. In addition, I feel the characters within the story contributed greatly to the book as a whole. The older couple that hired Amelia, were two very stern individuals, so the story became very comical when Amelia was brought into the picture. Amelia’s character took each chore very literally, so the house became destroyed show more rather quickly, which made the read funny and enjoyable. The message underlying the story is that children should not take everything adults and children say literally. When every statement in the world is taken literally, there is little room for humor and sarcasm; two components of language that make conversing enjoyable and less serious. show less

When asked to draw the curtains, she sketches them.
She dresses the chicken not with mayonnaise, but clothes.
When it’s time to put out the lights, she hangs them on a washing line.
And when asked to dust things… well, you get the idea.

Image: Drawing the curtains (Source)

Amelia is the maid at a very grand house. She is keen to do a good job, but is hampered by her literal mind and inability to understand idioms.

As a child, this was terribly funny and a little bit subversive.
Thinking about it now, it reads like a friendly caricature of a neurodivergent woman.

Fortunately, she’s such a good cook, her employers learn to accommodate her literal-mindedness and phrase their requests unambiguously, rather than forcing her to conform.
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This is just the first of many books about her. I first read Amelia Bedelia to my little brother and then to children I babysat: only the first three or four. I now realise I never had copies of my own and probably didn’t read them to my own child. show less

Amelia Bedelia que era mulher de verdade... lançado pela primeira vez em 1963, a personagem clássica de Peggy Parish já rendeu dezenas de livros e é fácil ver porquê. Entre ser anarquista ou autista (ou autista anarquista), Amelia Bedelia tem uma forte vibe de As Pequenas Margaridas da Chytilová que chegaria aos cinemas três anos depois desse livro. Uma delicinha.

I liked this book because it was funny how Amelia would take each phrase literally. If someone told her to "hit the road" she went outside to hit the road with a stick. This type of book shows kids that it is ok to misunderstand the meaning of a phrase, which is another reason why I liked this book. I think the humor in Amelia Bedelia is appropriate and approachable, I like how kids would easily understand that we do not actually want to "hit" the road, and we want to go somewhere. I did not like the pictures of this book because I felt like they were really outdated. Amelia walks around all day with a bonnet on her head regardless of what she is doing, and this is not a common practice anymore and I think kids would notice. The big show more idea of this story was not to take things literally, we have many different phrases that can mean more than one thing! show less

In "Amelia Bedelia," we follow a housekeeper named Amelia Bedelia as she does her chores for the Rogers family. But Amelia Bedelia has a funny way of doing things—she takes everything people say very literally! So when she's told to "dress the chicken," she thinks it means putting clothes on it. And when she's asked to "draw the drapes," she grabs her pencils and starts drawing pictures of curtains. "Amelia Bedelia" is full of funny moments that show how Amelia Bedelia's literal thinking can lead to unexpected and amusing situations. But no matter what, she always brings a smile to the faces of those she meets. Teachers can engage students in discussions about the meanings of words and phrases, as well as the importance of context in show more understanding communication. show less