Amelia Bedelia Means Business, by Herman Parish, illustrated by Lynne Avrill, 2013, New York, NY: Greenwillow Books. 160 pages. ISBN: 978-0062094964.
Series: Amelia Bedelia Chapter Book
Age/Interest Level: 6-10 years
Lexile Level: 640L
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: Amelia Bedelia wants a new bike. When her parents offer to split the cost, Amelia Bedelia wreaks havoc on her town due to her literal interpretation of words.
Plot Summary: Amelia Bedelia is back, and this time in chapter book form. What Amelia Bedelia wants more than anything in the world is a new bike. Her parents offer to split the cost with her, which helps, but Amelia still needs some cash. In order to make some money, she tries helping at a diner and running a lemonade stand, among other things. However, true to Amelia Bedelia fashion, she sees the literal meaning of words, resulting in some outrageous situations and some swift explanations from her parents.
Critical Evaluation: The Amelia Bedelia works are a master class in wordplay, and the character has effortlessly been expanded into the chapter book form. Kids can easily find the humor in Amelia’s antics as she takes everything so literally. It’s a great exploration of words and their true meanings as well as how we use particular sayings which would be absurd if taken literally. The character has been changed somewhat from her original incarnation, particularly by being aged down. However, she still has the same humor, and the illustrations accent the story, particularly through the clever use of thought bubbles to foreshadow some of what Amelia might be plotting.
Why Included: Amelia Bedelia lampoons the use of figures of speech in an hilarious way that shows the dangers of always taking things literally. It promotes critical thinking about words and speech in a unique way.
Series: Amelia Bedelia Chapter Book
Age/Interest Level: 6-10 years
Lexile Level: 640L
Awards: N/A
Reader Annotation: Amelia Bedelia wants a new bike. When her parents offer to split the cost, Amelia Bedelia wreaks havoc on her town due to her literal interpretation of words.
Plot Summary: Amelia Bedelia is back, and this time in chapter book form. What Amelia Bedelia wants more than anything in the world is a new bike. Her parents offer to split the cost with her, which helps, but Amelia still needs some cash. In order to make some money, she tries helping at a diner and running a lemonade stand, among other things. However, true to Amelia Bedelia fashion, she sees the literal meaning of words, resulting in some outrageous situations and some swift explanations from her parents.
Critical Evaluation: The Amelia Bedelia works are a master class in wordplay, and the character has effortlessly been expanded into the chapter book form. Kids can easily find the humor in Amelia’s antics as she takes everything so literally. It’s a great exploration of words and their true meanings as well as how we use particular sayings which would be absurd if taken literally. The character has been changed somewhat from her original incarnation, particularly by being aged down. However, she still has the same humor, and the illustrations accent the story, particularly through the clever use of thought bubbles to foreshadow some of what Amelia might be plotting.
Why Included: Amelia Bedelia lampoons the use of figures of speech in an hilarious way that shows the dangers of always taking things literally. It promotes critical thinking about words and speech in a unique way.