Amelia Bedelia


Amelia Bedelia is a series of American children's books that were written by Peggy Parish from 1963 until her death in 1988, and by her nephew, Herman, from 1995 to 2022. The stories follow Amelia Bedelia, a maid who repeatedly misunderstands various commands of her employer by taking figures of speech and various terminology literally, causing her to perform incorrect actions with a comical effect. They have been illustrated by Wallace Tripp, Fritz Siebel, Lynn Sweat, Lynne Avril, and Barbara Siebel Thomas.
As of 2013, the book series had sold over 35 million copies, plus 11 million more copies through a licensing deal through Scholastic.
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Description

Amelia Bedelia is a series of American children's books beginning with Amelia Bedelia in 1963. They were written by Peggy Parish until her death in 1988. Herman Parish, Peggy's nephew, contributed new stories to the series from 1995 to 2022. Many of the books are published as part of the I Can Read! series, levels 1 and 2.

Premise

The stories follow Amelia Bedelia, a maid who repeatedly misunderstands various commands of her employer by taking figures of speech and various terminology literally, with comical results. For example, she interprets a request to "put the lights out" as a request to physically put the light bulbs outside. Other examples include "tag a player out" when playing baseball resulting in her placing an actual tag on the player and then picking up the person to ask how far out they should be.
Part of the reason given for this behavior is that she comes from a family who takes everything literally: she works primarily as a maid for a wealthy couple known as the Rogers, who are astute enough to realize her literalism and write their requests as "un-dust the furniture" and "put the wet towels in the laundry and replace them with clean dry ones", as opposed to simply "change the towels".
However, she almost always manages to win everyone over at the end with her excellent cooking, particularly desserts.

Illustrations

The books have been illustrated by Wallace Tripp, Fritz Siebel, Lynn Sweat and Lynne Avril. In 1992 HarperCollins republished the three original stories with illustrations by Fritz Siebel's daughter, Barbara Siebel Thomas.

Characters

Amelia Bedelia: A maid who takes her orders too literallyMrs. Rogers: An employer who often gets angry at Amelia Bedelia's mistakesMr. Rogers: The husband of Mrs. Rogers

Authorship change

Following Parish's death, her nephew, the late Herman Parish, took over the writing of the book series in 1995. In 2009, Herman Parish began writing books about Amelia Bedelia's own childhood experiences, starting with Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School, illustrated by Lynne Avril.

List of books

Adult Amelia cont.Amelia's childhood series
Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia Bravo, Amelia Bedelia! Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia Amelia Bedelia and the Christmas List Amelia Bedelia, Bookworm Happy Haunting, Amelia Bedelia Amelia Bedelia Goes Back to School Be My Valentine, Amelia Bedelia Amelia Bedelia, Rocket Scientist? Amelia Bedelia Under Construction Amelia Bedelia's Masterpiece Amelia Bedelia and the Cat Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey Amelia Bedelia Bakes Off Go West, Amelia Bedelia! Amelia Bedelia, Cub Reporter Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie Amelia Bedelia's First Field Trip Amelia Bedelia Makes a Friend Amelia Bedelia's First Vote Amelia Bedelia Sleeps Over Amelia Bedelia Unleashed Amelia Bedelia Means Business Amelia Bedelia Hits the Trail Amelia Bedelia's First Library Card Amelia Bedelia Road Trip! Amelia Bedelia Tries her Luck Amelia Bedelia Joins the Club Amelia Bedelia Goes Wild Amelia Bedelia Shapes Up Amelia Bedelia Chalks One Up Amelia Bedelia Cleans Up Amelia Bedelia Is for the Birds Amelia Bedelia Sets Sail Amelia Bedelia Dances Off Amelia Bedelia on the Job Amelia Bedelia Ties the Knot Amelia Bedelia by the Yard Amelia Bedelia Takes the Cake Amelia Bedelia on the Move Amelia Bedelia Makes a Splash Amelia Bedelia Gets a Break Amelia Bedelia Digs In Amelia Bedelia Under the Weather Amelia Bedelia Gets the Picture Amelia Bedelia & Friends: Beat the Clock Amelia Bedelia & Friends: The Cat's Meow Amelia Bedelia Wraps It Up Amelia Bedelia Lost and Found Amelia Bedelia & Friends: Arise and Shine Amelia Bedelia & Friends Paint the Town 5-Minute Amelia Bedelia Stories Amelia Bedelia Steps Out Amelia Bedelia Scared Silly Amelia Bedelia & Friends Mind Their Manners Amelia Bedelia & Friends Blast Off Amelia Bedelia Hops to It

Adaptations

Several theatre productions have been produced based on the series, including by the Serendipity Theatre Company in West Hollywood, California, in 1994, the Omaha Theater for Young People in 2001; the San Diego Junior Theatre in 2002; the SCERA Theatre in Orem, Utah, in 2008; and the Art Centre Theatre in Plano, Texas, in 2011.
Universal Studios and Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman reportedly bought the rights to produce a live-action feature film adaptation of Amelia Bedelia in 2005, but the project never materialized.

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