Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School (by Herman Parish)

Amelia Bedelia, whose literal-minded mistakes have delighted kids since the 1960s, gets her first feature as a child in this book by the nephew of Amelia creator Peggy Parish. Amelia cheerfully plows through her first day of school, misunderstanding roll call as a game of tag, starting a new jump rope craze, and literally gluing herself to her chair.

Kids who are already confident in handling the school routine will be amused by Amelia Bedelia’s silly misunderstandings in this trifle of a book. Fans of the Amelia Bedelia series will enjoy seeing her as a bright-eyed, enthusiastic student.
Some of the wordplay, focused on homophones, idioms, and the like, might go right over the heads of younger readers. But kids who already know how school works can relate to her blunders. And the attitude here is unrelentingly positive. Her classmates laugh with her, not at her, and often delight in the fun -- as in when Amelia thinks “jumping rope” means hopping over a rope on the ground. It’s harmless fun, but not especially interesting.

Cheerful, bright cartoons fit Amelia’s enthusiasm.

Author: Herman Parish
Illustrator: Lynne Avril
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Publication date: June 23, 2009
Number of pages: 32
Hardcover price: $16.99
Read Aloud: 5
Read Alone: 7