Muddled, child-like Amelia Bedelia doesn't know a thing about babies (not even the fact that they're children!), so it's no surprise she doesn't make a very good babysitter. Still, despite her odd ways - allowing the baby to mash her own banana, powdering herself instead of the baby, and feeding the baby solid food before she's ready - she proves to be the exact kind of babysitter parents love to hire.
I was looking for a book to read to a first grade class on Read Across America Day when I came across Amelia Bedelia and the Baby. I remembered it instantly from my own childhood, when I read and re-read this series many times over. But as I told one of my coworkers when I finished reading this book, Amelia Bedelia's really not as funny as I thought she was as a kid. In fact, reading this book as an adult made me want to throttle Amelia Bedelia, and possibly Mrs. Rogers, too, for acting like her screw-ups are no big deal. I also felt a little bit guilty, as though the story was poking fun at a woman with a clear disability. Certainly, after many experiences with Amelia Bedelia, Mrs. Rogers would be on to the fact that this woman needs explicit instructions that can only be taken literally. But time and again, she fails to realize that Amelia Bedelia is wired differently and leaves her to fend for herself - and in this case, to care for an innocent child. I can usually turn off my adult brain when I read children's books, but this one made it nearly impossible.
I also decided not to read the book to first grade, not just because I didn't think it was funny and therefore didn't think I could sell it very well, but because of the somewhat dated language in it. Amelia Bedelia uses the word "plumb" a lot, which I have never actually heard a person use out loud (other than my sister, who as a child, pronounced it as plump, as in "I plump forgot.") I wasn't sure I'd be able to explain what that meant if the kids asked. And this did not figure into my decision, but I have also always wondered about that get-up she always wears. Where and when is she meant to be from?
Amelia Bedelia has had a makeover in recent years. Herman Parish now writes stories of an endearing literal-minded child where the character's behavior is much less disturbing, and even developmentally appropriate. I think these classics will always be popular because they do appeal to that six-year-old sense of humor, but it's tough being the adult who has to take them at least seriously enough to make the story sound exciting to the reader. I actually think the fact that this book no longer appeals to me says a lot for the author's ability to understand a child's mindset, but that doesn't mean I'll be seeking anymore of the original Amelia Bedelia stories any time soon.
I borrowed Amelia Bedelia and the Baby from my local public library.
1 Comments on Old School Sunday: Review: Amelia Bedelia and the Baby by Peggy Parish, illustrated by Lynn Sweat, last added: 3/27/2012
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+JMJ+
My favourite Amelia Bedelia book was the one in which she was fired and had to look for jobs all over town. I thought her literal understanding of everyone's instructions was the funniest thing ever!
But now I wonder whether I'd be able to turn off my adult mind, as you say, when revisiting these stories. There have been some children's books (though not old favourites) that I rejected for my younger siblings at once because they seemed so stupid, even as I knew they'd be totally innocuous fun for their young readers.