GARZ4LIB

As previously mentioned, I’m trying to think of a way to better shelve Easy Readers. So, in the process, I’ve been pulling various reading levels of material to look at their record to confirm that they could be located by a keyword search for “Level 1″ etc. Some, but not all. Nerts! Clearly, I’ll have to think more creatively about the shelving issue, but in the meantime, my eye falls on Amelia Bedelia and the Baby by Peggy Parish. I’ve owned and loved the book as a child, so I pick it up and read it.

Oh, loveable, nutty Amelia Bedelia… she does everything literally and with childish glee. In reality, quite possibly someone with a screw loose, but in fiction simply a kind soul with a whimsical outlook on the world. For those of you who don’t know Amelia Bedelia, she is a child-like young woman of nondescript age, who wears maid’s attire. She’s hired for odd jobs and inevitably screws them up by taking the written instructions of her clients completely literally. For instance: “Draw the drapes” – she literally draws them. “Dust the sitting room” – she sprinkles baby powder around to dust it. And a particularly ingenious addition (not in Amelia Bedelia and the baby) , ” marble the counter tops” results in the meticulous placement of marbles on… what else? A counter top! It’s the most hilarious edition of “While You Were Out” EVER. So the clients come home, see what she’s done to their homes, possessions, and children and flip out. I mean, they are upper-middle-class suburban family. They hire some help, and the help destroys their home! Of course they’re pissed off! So what happens then? Litigation? Incarceration? Occupational therapy for Amelia Bedelia? Well, not really.

During the course of the book, Amelia always manages to cook something. She is a phenomenal chef. Strawberry tarts, steak, lemon meringue pie… she might not be able to follow simple directions, but she has internalized literally hundreds of recipes. The outcome of every story is that no matter what she manages to screw up in the course of her day – she will always be redeemed to her employers by way of her cooking.

Hilarious stories for young children? Yes. But reading it as an adult I can’t help but think that it is… ridiculous, not necessarily to the point of harm, but gives one pause. First there’s the outfit. French maids clothing? Seriously? Maybe suitable when Peggy Parish started writing these but now? Also there’s the very realistic fact that whomever this person would be in real life, she would hardly be considered capable to work or possibly even live independently! Then there’s her modus operandi – the well-cooked meal. So, the message seems to be, even if you completely destroy a household and endanger children – if you cook a good meal, it’s all good because that’s what women should be able to do. o_0 ?!?!?!

But I kid, I kid. I’m being too harsh – the point of children’s literature is to expand the imagination and the character of an idiot savant who wears a french maid’s outfit is pretty charming… She also teaches the subtle nuances of homonyms. At any rate – if you’re being asked for a series of engaging level 3 reads, this is a good one. Maybe you can engage your young readers’ minds in a discussion of female archetypes in literature! Ha!