Amelia Bedelia
Encyclopedia
Amelia Bedelia (book)
Amelia Bedelia is the first book in the Amelia Bedelia childrens book series. It was written by Peggy Parish and published in 1963.-Synopsis:...
Amelia Bedelia is the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
and title character
Title role
The title role in the performing arts is the performance part that gives the title to the piece, as in Aida, Giselle, Michael Collins or Othello. The actor, singer or dancer who performs that part is also said to have the title role....
of a series of American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
childrens books written by Peggy Parish
Peggy Parish
Peggy Parish of Manning, South Carolina , was the author of the children's story series Amelia Bedelia. The series was continued, after her sudden death from an aneurysm, by her nephew Herman Parish...
until her death in 1988, and by her nephew Herman Parish
Herman Parish
Herman Parish is the current author of Amelia Bedelia children's book series, and is the nephew of the original author, Peggy Parish. Having grown up with his aunt’s tales of Amelia’s humorous misadventures, Herman decided to carry on the legacy after his aunt’s death in 1988...
beginning in 1995. The books have been illustrated by Wallace Tripp
Wallace Tripp
Wallace Whitney Tripp is an American illustrator, anthologist and author. He is known for creating anthropomorphic animal characters of emotional complexity and for his great visual and verbal humor. He is one of several illustrators of the Amelia Bedelia series of children's stories...
, Fritz Siebel, and the two current illustrators, Lynn Sweat and Lynne Avril. In 1992 HarperCollins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
republished the three original Amelia Bedelia books: Amelia Bedelia, Amelia Bedelia and the Surprise Shower, and Thank You, Amelia Bedelia with illustrations by Barbara Siebel Thomas, daughter of the original illustrator Fritz Siebel.
"Amelia Bedelia" was based on a maid in Cameroon
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...
, where the author spent some time during her formative years. Her vast collection of hats, notorious for their extensive plumage, inspired her to write an assortment of tales based on her experiences in North Africa. Some of the stories involve Amelia repeatedly misunderstanding various commands of her employer by always taking figures of speech
Figures of Speech
Figures of Speech is a hip hop group consisting of MCs Eve and Jyant. They performed at the Good Life Cafe in the early 1990s and were featured on the Project Blowed compilation....
and various terminology literally, causing her to perform wrong actions with comical effect. However, she almost always manages to win everyone over at the end of the book by baking an (apparently delicious) pie or cake.
There is a statue of Amelia Bedelia in Manning, South Carolina
Manning, South Carolina
Manning is a city in South Carolina and the county seat of Clarendon County in the Southeastern United States, located in the center of the county, just to the east of Interstate 95 and at the intersection of U.S. 301 and U.S. 521. The population was estimated to be 3,943 as of 2008, down 2% from...
, the hometown of author Peggy Parish
Peggy Parish
Peggy Parish of Manning, South Carolina , was the author of the children's story series Amelia Bedelia. The series was continued, after her sudden death from an aneurysm, by her nephew Herman Parish...
.
The books are published as part of the I Can Read series, level 2.
List of books
- Amelia BedeliaAmelia Bedelia (book)Amelia Bedelia is the first book in the Amelia Bedelia childrens book series. It was written by Peggy Parish and published in 1963.-Synopsis:...
(1963) - Thank You, Amelia Bedelia (1964)
- Amelia Bedelia and the Surprise Shower (1966)
- Come Back, Amelia Bedelia (1971)
- Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia (1972)
- Good Work, Amelia Bedelia (1976)
- Teach Us, Amelia Bedelia (1977)
- Amelia Bedelia Helps Out (1979)
- Amelia Bedelia and the Baby (1981)
- Amelia Bedelia Goes Camping (1985)
- Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia (1986)
- Amelia Bedelia's Family Album (1988)
- Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia (1995)
- Bravo, Amelia Bedelia! (1997)
- Amelia Bedelia 4 Mayor (1999)
- Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia (2002)
- Amelia Bedelia and the Christmas List (2003)
- Amelia Bedelia, Bookworm (2003)
- Happy Haunting, Amelia Bedelia (2004)
- Amelia Bedelia Goes Back to School (2004)
- Be My Valentine, Amelia Bedelia (2004)
- Amelia Bedelia, Rocket Scientist? (2005)
- Amelia Bedelia's Masterpiece (2007)
- Amelia Bedelia Under Construction (2007)
- Amelia Meets Emilie Castro (2007)
- Amelia Bedelia and the Cat (2008)
- Amelia Bedelia's First Day of School (2009)
- Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine (2009)
- Amelia Bedelia Makes a Friend (2011)