Charming for All Ages

Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie by Herman Parish and illustrataed by Lynne Avril is one of the most adorable children’s books I have read in a long time. It invokes numerous memories from my own childhood, from helping my grandmother and then my mother in the kitchen to going apple-picking with my family. Amelia Bedelia begins in the fall, with Amelia visiting her grandparents. She goes with her grandfather to buy apples which she then uses to help her grandmother make an apple pie. However, the first apple pie? It gets eaten by swallows. Luckily, Amelia Bedelia made a second smaller pie which the family declares is just as good as her grandmother’s pie. Overall, this story has the lightheartedness combined with a message of the beauty of fall and spending time with family.
This is a book which I see as more geared towards third grade. The vocabulary is roughly around that area, and I believe that would be the grade that would most be able to connect with Amelia Bedelia throughout the entire story. This is a book that would make for a great read-aloud right before a fall party. I would ask my kids to share fall family experiences such as going apple-picking in the mountains, going to farmer’s markets, or helping with pie-making during the fall and at Thanksgiving. Since it brings up a lot of memories for me, perhaps an activity would be for the students to create an “Amelia Bedelia” story that involves one of their favorite fall memories.
Amelia Bedelia has been a storybook series that has been around for a long time. As always, the book is full of very colorful pictures that illustrate the most important parts of the story. All of it is in colors of the fall, making the storyline come alive. For those students who love to cook or help in the kitchen, a recipe for apple pie can be found in the back of this book (as well as a caution to always have an adult present to help in the kitchen). Although there are no critical reviews of these story, the Amelia Bedelia stories have been charming children and adults alike for many years and will continue long into all of our teaching careers.
For more of the Amelia Bedelia books or information about these books, check out this website: www.ameliabedeliabooks.com.