Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia

Amelia Bedelia #5

by Peggy Parish, Wallace Tripp (Illustrator)

The lovable, hilarious Amelia Bedelia is back, filling in for a sick player on the Grizzlies baseball team. Watch out! Because nobody plays ball like Amerila Bedelia. Grade 1 - Grade 3

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Sports, Humor, Baseball, Juvenile

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Peggy Parish 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. Peggy attended the University of South Carolina and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.

Herman honored Peggy's life in his book, Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia, by writing in its dedication: "For Peggy Parish, the real Amelia Bedelia."

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am now a 'virtual reading buddy' to my friends young daughter - and she loves Amelia Bedelia. I really enjoyed this book and tried to read it in my best Carol Burnett voice - and was rewarded with lots of smiles - more than I could ask for.

[Sophia Triad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia becomes the star of the Grizzlies baseball team without even understanding the rules of baseball.
Funny.
I need to confess here that I also don't understand how baseball is played 😳

[L. McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

SUPER FAST REVIEW:
Gee, and I thought I didn’t know anything about sports (admittedly I actually didn’t understand a few of the jokes about baseball terminology in this but got most of them). So I had fun with this book! It is less predictable than some of the books in this series, the illustrations are great as always and it is quite humorous.
I will admit it is slightly weird because we got a girl who is I’m pretty sure a young adult playing baseball with a bunch of middle school aged boys and I must say... maybe I’m just noticing it now but it is annoying as shit reading Amelia’s full name over and over again.
Overall, this is a fun little book. Recommended if you’re a fan of Amelia Bedelia or baseball.

4/5

[Steve Holden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Amelia Bedelia! I loved her as a child, and she still is making young students laugh and connect to words and phrases we say. Play Ball serves as a nice, silly connection to my collection of baseball themed books that I've been introducing and exposing my class to. This is typical of Amelia Bedelia, but so much fun! I love when she steals the bases and "goes home!" Baseball can be confusing! This is a good one, and I love seeing my class choosing to spend some time with Amelia Bedelia.

[Lisa M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia the icon the legend, gets everything wrong but never lets it get her down. One of my favorite children's book characters.

[Sandra Nedopričljivica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia je super lik, a ovoga puta me nasmijala do suza...

[Katie]

This is one of my favorite childhood books and one I've read many many times.

This book has Amelia Bedelia learning to play baseball and help out the neighborhood boys, but, as in typical Amelia Bedelia style, chaos ensues in the process.

This book never fails to make me laugh and the illustrations are a lovely addition to show the shenanigans play out as you read.

Definitely one I'll reread over and over again.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Revisiting the classics. Amelia Bedelia can make anything fun, even snoozerific baseball.

[Danica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little less mayhem in this book. But man, do I want some of her baking now! It must be fantastic.

[Tara DuBose-Schmitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

A boring book about a boring sport. Amelia Bedelia books are all based on the same joke—her literal interpretation of everything. It’s slightly more amusing when my husband reads them aloud in a preposterous thick southern accent.

[HeavyReader · Rating 3 out of 5]

My boss met Peggy Parish when she (my boss) was a kid! How cool is that! Now she (Peggy Parish) is dead. That makes me a bit sad. Circle of life and all of that, I know, but I wish Peggy were still writing books. (I guess her nephew has taken over the Amelia Bedelia franchise.)

Anyway, this is not my favorite Amelia Bedelia book (that would be the one where she dusts the furniture and draws the drapes), but this one is good. It's pretty hilarious when Amelia Bedelia steals those bases!

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baseball fans will love this one! There's so much that can go wrong and that Amelia Bedelia can take literally. And of course she does; and it's great!

Reading Level: 1st - 3rd grades

Cleanliness: someone says "my goodness" and "for gosh sakes."

**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar.

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

No children's book collection could be complete without Amelia Bedelia! As a kid I was always trying to figure out how Amelia Bedelia would twist the words around or how she would take it literally before I turned the page. She is so funny and lovable. In this book my favorite has always been when Ameila steals the bases and runs home. :)

[Seth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these books when I was a child, and still have memories of the stupid tales that make me smile. These books are great if you have a child in the family--even more so if you are a child at heart.

[Casey Trump · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia takes on playing ball! Oh what will she do now? As always, she keeps young readers gussing as to what she'll get into this time. Predictable in the sense that she's going to do something wrong, bad wrong, but keeps readers interested to find out what.

[Amy Bruestle · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG Amelia Bedelia!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS IN LOVE with these books when I was younger! Simply IN LOVE! They were my FAVORITE! I can still remember reading them with my Dad! Although this one, Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia, was DEFINITELY the BEST one!!!!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some quirky, silly humor for kids elementary age. I always liked her books and her clueless manner.

[Mya · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pleasant read. I think kids will enjoy it.

[Ariel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, so like, this book I read is called "Play Ball, Amelia Bedelia" by Peggy Parrish. It's about this funny lady named Amelia Bedelia. At the start, she's shopping for groceries. But then, she sees some sad-looking people called the Grizzlies. They're sad because their friend Danny can't play a baseball game against the Tornadoes 'cause he's sick with measles.

So, Amelia Bedelia is like, "Hey, I can play instead!" And the Grizzlies are like, "Umm, okay." But oh boy, that was a big mistake! She doesn't really know how to play baseball. They tell her the rules, like you hit the ball and run to the bases – first base, second base, and so on. And you're supposed to catch the ball too.

But when she's supposed to touch a player named Joe to get him out, she takes a tag from her bag and tags him! That's not how it works, haha. She even runs home with the home plate because she thought it meant stealing the plate, like taking it. She's a bit silly sometimes.

There's this funny part where she wonders how to run home to home plate. And she actually scoops up the home plate and runs to her own house! And guess what? She filled it with cookies and gave it to the Grizzlies. Those were some grassy cookies, I guess.

I had so much fun reading this book. I learned that Amelia Bedelia is always funny no matter where she is. And you should never let her join your baseball team because she has like, strange luck. It's like when you trip but somehow miss all the rocks on the path. Also, guess what? The Grizzlies actually won the game, even with Amelia Bedelia's crazy playing.

So, I really think you should read this book if you want to laugh and have a good time. Amelia Bedelia is just everywhere and nowhere, and she brings lots of funny moments.

This book is amazing, and I can't wait for you to see my full review on my YouTube channel.
https://youtu.be/QbO8J09mfFQ

[Samuel Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was about a boy’s baseball team who needed an extra player to play a game against a rival team, and Amelia Bedelia came to the rescue as their substitute player. While she was very helpful for reaching the number of players required, she didn't really know how to play baseball. They tried to explain how the game of baseball worked but she just did not quite understand it. Eventually, she ends up helping them win the game and, while she still doesn't completely get it, they are all rejoicing over their victory. The big idea of this story is acceptance. The boys on the team accepted Amelia Bedelia as their teammate, despite how she did not know how to play baseball. They were still nice to her and did not get upset of angry when she did something wrong, they just continued trying to help. I think that this is really important because, in classrooms and on the playground, kids must learn how to be inclusive and accept everybody. Even though she is a girl on the boys baseball team and doesn't know how to play necessarily, she is still helped and treated as a friend- which pays off because they win and are all good friends afterwards. A heartwarming story and a fun read!

[Squirrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming yet unnecessarily stereotyping. And the book was written in the 70s? Why are all the characters of one racial type (even same hair colors)? There's not a single girl that would play baseball at that age? Okay, but what hits this home is that Amelia's mistakes are forgiven because she...made cookies. And goes on to make...more cookies. Yikes!

That's the lesson? Not that the children didn't explain things well, not that Amelia learned some new things, or tried something new? Imagine how different the message if instead of giving them cookies, Amelia taught the kids to make them.

Should be an adorable kids' book, but stick with the classics - which don't dictate roles based on sex! (Even the Brothers Grimm had that covered.)

[Claire Brignac · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE the Amelia Bedelia series so much! As a kid, this is the first book that I would pick up because it made me laugh so much. Play Ball is about Amelia Bedelia playing a baseball game with a bunch of kids and not knowing at all how to play. They teach her a little bit before the game how to catch and bat and they are determined to win this baseball game. Lucky, Amelia Bedelia wins them the game by hitting a home run but little does she know to not pick up every base as she passes them! This book is a good read for kids and for adults who like a good laugh.

[Rich Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember these books from my childhood, and I’m not sure about how I feel about the main character and how she’s treated. I also don’t know how this book ended up on our bookshelf. Anyway, my child found it and wanted to read it tonight and I appreciate how it both talks about and illustrates some of the jargon around baseball. He liked the word play around “stealing bases” after I had to explain it to him and explain how it’s meant to be funny. I’m not sure if he’ll request it again. It’s a long book for a 3 year old. Still, it was fun for a read.

[Madeline Masluk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fun and easy story for second graders to read. I always loved reading Amelia Bedelia books growing up and other children will love it too. This book is a fun book to read because Amelia Bedelia is that type of character who loves to think outside the box and always puts a smile on the audience faces. Would definitely read this book to a second grade classroom someday.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Amelia Bedelia. She seems so silly since she takes everything literally, but this book did not disappoint. I don't even like baseball, but I enjoyed this book. Amelia Bedelia is funny and this story will make you chuckle on what the things she does. Although from an ESL point of view, it makes sense how confusing the English language is and why Amelia Bedelia did what she did.

[Allyson Goose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the silly word plays that emerge as Amelia Bedelia learns how to play baseball. My preschooler and kindergartener don’t know a lot about baseball, so they missed some of the jokes. Still, we all understood enough to laugh a lot. I wish there had been more girls besides Amelia Bedelia in the book, though.

[Meryl (MerylMakReads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a cute and goofy kid's book that made the point of how silly the words in baseball sound if you don't know the terminology of the game. I loved this take and how the book came full circle in the end. This would be a great book for any kid who's interested in baseball or kids that are learning how the same words can mean different things.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading Amelia Bedelia books as a young child, and I read several of them again as a teenager when I worked at a library. This is one of the ones I remember reading. My favorite part was when the kids told her to "run home!"

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia, the lovable, klutzy, literal-minded housekeeper tries her hand at baseball to help the grizzles, who is one player short, field the baseball team to play a game. High jinks abound as Amelia Bedelia learns, and plays the game of baseball as only she knows how-Literally!

[Gabriel Dell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sometimes I feel like this is how kids feel when I ask them questions about things they know a lot about. I remember being a kid and thinking grown-ups just don't understand kid stuff, like playing. This would be a good book to read with a kid who likes baseball/softball.