Customer Reviews

Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love Amelia Bedelia books and read all of them as a child and as a teacher, I was sure to share them with my students. This book is super special because haven't all Amelia Badelia fans wondered what Amelia Bedelia was like as a child? I know I have and this book shows Amelia as a first grader. This is the first time Amelia Bedelia has been shown as a child. With this great story we now know that Amelia started out silly and that is just the way she will always be. Ordinary first grade happenings become extraordinary with Amelia Bedelia's literal take on all things first grade. Teachers can see themselves in Miss Edwards. She is patient but knows when enough is enough and tells Amelia, after she has gotten out of her seat many times to, "Please glue yourself to your seat." If you know Amelia Bedelia, you can guess what she does when Miss Edwards just wants her to stay in her seat. Students get a look at a fun filled day and will laugh out loud when Amelia Bedelia does what she is told. The pictures by Lynne Avril really compliment the text and make the story even more exciting. My son loved seeing Amelia Bedelia try to put her nose in a book because he hears me tell him to do that often. This would be a great first week of school read or a special book to share with your child the night before they start school. This would also be a fantastic gift for a new teacher. I love Amelia Bedelia and enjoyed seeing her as a child in this terrific picture book!

This summer I introduced to our daughter to Amelia Bedelia and my daughter requested to read everything and anything about Amelia. Here we finally get to see Amelia as a child on her 1st day of school. And at the same time find out that as a child she took people at their word... exactly, just as she does as an adult! It's a very cute book and the illustrations are done by Lynne Avril and she did a great job!

At first our daughter didn't understand why Amelia would take instruction so literally, then would laugh and shake her head at Amelia's latest antics. Now, my daughter when she hears something that would confuse Amelia in her every life, she makes the connection to Amelia and laughs, shakes her head and then tells us how it would confuse Amelia into do this chore.

My almost-4-year-old son has been addicted to the Amelia Bedelia books for about a year. He actually taught himself to read by memorizing some of his favorites and then "reading" along with them. Mr. and Mrs. Rogers, Cousin Alcolu and all the other incidental characters are like friends to him. So I approached this new turn in the series with some concern, expecting to be disappointed. I mean, honestly, the whole joy of the Amelia character is that she *looks* like an adult but *acts* like a child, with Mr. and Mrs. Rogers as loving but exasperated parent figures. How could the series work with Amelia as a child?

The answer is: It works pretty well. I do miss the Mr. and Mrs. Rogers characters. I also feel that without the blustery, irascible Mr. Rogers, the series loses a source of tension and interest -- especially for children, who are often intimidated by disapproving adults and find it reassuring that Mr. Rogers always comes round to accepting Amelia in the end.

Nevertheless, the Amelia character is pretty intact -- she still interprets all instructions literally, with ridiculous results. For example, when the teacher asks her to glue herself to her chair, she does exactly that. Plot-wise, this book is basically a redux of Amelia Bedelia Goes Back to School. The illustrations are quite different from the Lynn Sweat illustrations from the later books in the adult Amelia series, but they're colorful and charming in their own right. And in this book, we learn the apparent origin of Amelia's signature daisy headband.

Personally, I think Amelia was more unique and interesting as a childlike adult. However, my son, the near-obsessive Amelia B. fan, really enjoyed this book and has asked for many rereadings. (He did ask why Amelia was little; I told him this was before she grew up, and he seemed satisfied.) I'll defer to my boy's judgement and say that Amelia fans -- especially young ones -- will really appreciate this book. And for those children who've never met Amelia, this could be an easy "in" to the series and its silly wordplay.

Having loved Amelia Bedelia books as a child myself, I was skeptical this new book might be disappointing. I was quite surprised and found it very much in keeping with what you might have guessed Amelia Bedelia was like as a child. My 5 year old son liked it so much we immediatley ordered Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie. I hope to be just as pleasantly surprised with that book as well. If you are an Amelia Bedelia fan, don't hesitate to try out these books.

My grandson loves all the Amelia Bedelia Books - he thinks she is
so "silly"!

This book chronicles the literal-minded Amelia Bedelia's first day at school. Her humorous misadventures are sure to be somewhat entertaining: her teacher tells her to glue herself to her seat, the bus driver tells her to jump off the bus, the librarian encourages her to bury her nose in a book, all of which she interprets literally. While it is an admirable effort, and not a bad picture book by any means, it certainly isn't a dazzling one either. The situations that the author chose for Amelia Bedelia to misinterpret are predictable and not really that interesting. Compared to the original series, Amelia Bedelia the child is not nearly as compelling as Amelia Belia the adult.