Amelia Bedelia Unleashed

Amelia Bedelia Chapter Books #2

by Herman Parish, Lynne Avril (Illustrator)

With Amelia Bedelia, anything can happen!

Amelia Bedelia is going to get a puppy! When her parents ask her what kind of dog she'd like, Amelia Bedelia doesn't know what to say. There are hundreds of dogs in the world, maybe even millions! How will Amelia Bedelia ever find the perfect puppy?

Look out! Here comes Amelia Bedelia, and she's got one thing on her mind—DOGS!

Genres: Childrens, Chapter Books, Fiction, Humor, 1st Grade, Realistic Fiction, Juvenile

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2013

About the author

Herman Parish (born 1953) is the author of Amelia Bedelia children's book series, nephew of 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. He did not wish to entrust the future of the series into the hands of a children’s author outside of the family. Since Peggy had the summers off from teaching, she was able to stay with the Parish family for extended periods of time, allowing Herman and Peggy to develop a close relationship. More importantly, this gave Herman a chance to keenly observe Peggy during her writing processes, gaining great insight to the road ahead of him. To carry on the essence of the series, Herman thoroughly examined his aunt’s work and did his best to capture what exactly made the character of Amelia Bedelia such a hit. Having editor Susan Hirschman and illustrator Lynn Sweat in common with his aunt helped to make the transition. He has added thirteen more books to the series. Herman is a resident of Princeton, New Jersey, and travels to libraries and schools across the United States, speaking and inspiring young children. The importance of revising and editing is often stressed during these dynamic lectures. He has presented to students in more than 22 states.

-Wikipedia

***The photo at left is of Herman with his aunt, Peggy Parish, in 1985.

Reviews

[Elissa Schaeffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot diggety dog, Amelia Bedelia has entered the world of chapter books!! Thank you Herman Parish for all you've done with the world of Amelia Bedelia!

First, let me say that Amelia is a young, contemporary girl but she has lost none of her "literal-ism" charm. She still makes comments about how painful it would be to "keep your eyes peeled" for something. :)

Amelia is smart, literal-minded, and quite charming. I would most definitely recommend this book and would suggest it to "midway" readers who are past early readers and just entering the world of chapter books/intermediate readers...7+. This is another great entry in this category but is not as "girly-girl" as the Nancy Clancy/Fancy Nancy chapter books.

[Stephanie Miller Sproat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked that book A lot It deserves a 5 stars.😀

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recording myself reading these for niece. Cute book. Great words and play on expressions for them to start getting familiar with.

[Jenn M · Rating 4 out of 5]

One never knows what will happen in an Amelia Bedelia story, because Amelia Bedelia takes things literally...really.

Amelia Bedelia's friends are becoming big brothers and/or sisters. Even her teacher is going to have a baby over the summer. One night, Amelia Bedelia announces at dinner that her parents should also have another baby so Amelia Bedelia can be a big sister. In the meantime, Amelia Bedelia is allowed to get a dog, but what kind should she choose? There are so many great dog breeds and she loves them all.

Follow Amelia Bedelia as she walks dogs and helps a friend prepare his dog for the annual dog show. Nothing turns out as expected, but that is the fun of this story.

My 7-year-old daughter really enjoyed this book and I heard her laughing out loud while reading.

[Renee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia is now a chapter book series. The original beginning reader books, the pictures books about the young Amelia are a hit at the library so I ordered these as soon as a heard about them. Just read the 2nd book in the series and enjoyed it. The author did a nice job of weaving in how Amelia misunderstands saying while keep a light and fun plot. In this book, Amelia wants a bog. While her parents thing about it, she helps her friend who is a dog-walker and another friend who is entering his dog in a dog show.

Can read series out of order and still understand the stories.

[Lauren Iuppa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Amelia Bedelia series in the younger child version books and the older child versions such as the chapter books. I think they are very fun for children who love reading books that entertain them more than just reading. I loved them as a child too, they were also another one of my favorite childhood book series. i strongly think they all have messages for children too. They are my favorite books for young children.

[Ria Gill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia Unleashed by Herman Parish is about Amelia's quest for the perfect dog, even though her parents do not want her to have one. Amelia ends up walking ten dogs...does this mean she will get her own? The remainder of the book follows Amelia's literal interpretations. I would recommend this chapter book for students in first to fourth or fifth grade, depending on their reading level.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

I used to read these books when I was little with my Bubbi. So for Christmas this year, she gave me this book just to be nostalgic. Well it worked! When I read it, all the memories of reading about Amelia Bedelia came rushing back! It was such a nice trip down memory lane.

[Holley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia holds a special place in my heart. Her young adventures as written by Peggy Parish's nephew Herman Parish amuse and delight both my kids. The black and white illustrations are perfect.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Amelia Bedelia is much more entertaining as a spinster maid.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read. I love the humor combined with themes of innocence, family and community. My daughter's and I loved it. There are some laugh out loud parts in this book.

[Jenny Bates · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a little difficult to get through as a read aloud.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Em (age 6) loves this series.

[Alana Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually really enjoyed this book! I really like the dog that Amelia Bedelia got (Finally the mixed breed dog). But it literally took thirteen chapters to get to that point. It was a really easy read. Only took me two days. But I feel like it was more about them taking care of that poodle than actually getting a dog. And it seemed like Amelia Bedelia barely ever even thought about getting one! Also the little end note to the readers (such as me and anyone else who picked up the book and read to that point) was kinda annoying. I feel like it kinda already gave me a whole bunch of spoilers about the next book I'm reading of the Amelia Bedelia series. Now I know where they are gonna end up at the end of the story! The author let the cat out of the bag. "Let the cat out of the bag?" Amelia Bedelia asked. "What does that mean?" Well, it means that they ruined the surprise! Other than those few incidents, it was pretty good!

[Nate Hipple · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is adorable. There’s not much in the way of misunderstanding hijinks that made the old Amelia Bedelia series so charming, but that’s okay with me. It was a cute, positive, well written book that I can enjoy with my daughter, which is good enough any day of the week.

[Colin Altevogt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my son. He gave it five stars.

[Lorelei Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked her dog!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story. Amelia decides she wants a dog, and spends the rest of the story trying to figure out what breed she wants. She also makes a new friend (and gets to know his dog) along the way.

[Amelia Nolen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a fun read aloud with my dog loving 6-year old.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia will always hold a soft spot in my heart. I grew up reading about Amelia Bedelia's adventures as a child, and I'm glad she has been modernized in this series for my kiddos' generation. Charlie and Pierre were a joy to be introduced to. I also liked that the quest to give Amelia a sibling is still unresolved in this volume; having a baby isn't always so easy. 4/5

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia is back and anxious to adopt a dog, but she has no idea what kind she wants. Her attempts to figure out the answer to that question are full of hilarious mishaps, but in the end, she finds exactly the right kind of dog for her.

This second installment in the Amelia Bedelia chapter book series was just as entertaining as the first. My 6-year-old loved having me read it to her at bedtime. It's fun and silly and engaging.

My biggest quibble is that all the characters are white/presumed white. Seriously, would it have killed the illustrator to have drawn some of the characters with darker skin? There are so many illustrations, I'd almost characterize the book as an illustrated novel, yet not a one looked anything but white. That's what is keeping my rating at 3 stars instead of 4.

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I love how Amelia Bedelia takes things very literally in the picture/beginning reader book, I found it to be somewhat distracting and annoying in this chapter book.

[Darlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was definitely a fun story to read with my daughter, but it was lacking the usual overabundance of wit one would expect from Amelia Bedelia.

[Ginny Daniels · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just as cute as the first one! I liked that a couple of the supporting characters from the first book are in this one too. Great for second graders! :)

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok

[David Bonarigo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that it was awesome

[Dina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am loving reading these to my daughter. The dad’s jokes make me laugh. I just adore Amelia Bedelia.

[Dyllan Getz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Amelia bedelia books! They are great
This one might be my favorite one but Idk yet!

[Evelyn Sessions · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia’s second chapter book was even better than the first! It contains everything that beginning chapter book readers need to be drawn in. Amelia is also an amazing role model for little kids: she listens to her parents, works hard at everything she does, is kind to others, has fun hobbies and interests about the world. That paired with hilarious missteps on taking metaphors literally makes this a really enjoyable read.

I’m twelve, so I’m kind of old for them by now, but I loved the series so much when I was younger. I first discovered them when I was seven, and kept reading them up until age ten, but feel free to start sooner! Kindergarteners might struggle to read some of the vocabulary, but it would still make a fun read aloud, and by the time you get a few books in, they might adjust to the chapter book format and read it themselves. Since I’m too old to get the same joy out of the series, I lent them to my younger brother, and even he, a boy as well as a reluctant reader, loved Amelia Bedelia and her way of taking things literally! So even if you have boys, the series might still be worth a shot.

Thus, book two deserves at least five stars!

[Hannah Monroe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia wants a baby brother or sister. Her parents compromise and say she can get a dog. There's one problem, Amelia doesn't know what type of dog she wants! Amelia starts working with Diana for her dog service and she meets Charlie and his dog Pierre, who does dog shows. Amelia has to help Charlie after he hurts his foot, so she shows Pierre. Shortly after the show, Amelia goes to the animal shelter with her parents where they pick out a mutt!
I gave this book 3 stars. Getting a pet is a really big deal for kids, and so I wished this book talked more about the importance of pet-ownership and taking care of an animal. This book seemed to be mostly focused on the other characters, Charlie and Pierre, rather than Amelia's ability to take care of a dog. It was entertaining, however.