Peggie Parrish- Amelia Bedelia

Peggy Parish

Introducing reading to young children and keeping them interested is a mission that not only parents and teachers strive for, but authors do as well. Peggy Parish, a famous children's author born in Manning, South Carolina in 1927, strived to engage children and keep their interest until their adolescent years. Peggy Parish not only took some of her work experiences and weaved them into her books, but also taught children how some words have several meanings and totally opposite interpretation. (Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit Gale, 2003. From Literature Resource Center. Web.15 June 2010) Peggy Parish's series, "Amelia Bedelia" is one of my favorite due to the light hearted, inviting approach that Parish took in its writing. Reading "Amelia Bedelia" as a child kept me interested in reading and wondering what she was going to do next.

According to Publishers Weekly. 246.16, Peggy Parish was born in Manning, South Carolina to Herman and Cecil Parish. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1948 and from George Peabody College for Teachers in 1950. Parish worked as a teacher in Oklahoma, Kentucky and Texas. Early on in her career, she also worked as a creative dance instructor and in advertising. Kidsreads.com credits Parish's elementary class at Dalton Elementary in New York for the inspiration of Amelia Bedelia. It appears that Parish incorporated some of her hometown flare into her books as well, giving Amelia's cousin the name Alcolu. ((c) Copyright 2009, Series Book Feature, Kidsreads.com, The Book Report Network, New York, New York.)

When given instructions Amelia Bedelia, a maid, has the tendency to take those instructions literally. The character, Amelia Bedelia, is literally inclined to accomplish exactly what is requested of her. In one of Parish's first books in the Amelia Bedelia series, Amelia was left with a list of things to do, one of which was to change the towels in the bathroom. Although the towels looked perfectly fine to Amelia Bedelia, she did her best to give the towels a new look by cutting designs into them with scissors. Did the employer want Amelia to literally "change" her towels by cutting them up? No. But that is exactly what you get with the character Amelia Bedelia. She strives so hard to please her employer that she usually ruins it in the process. Throughout the Amelia Bedelia series, children find that the light-hearted, hard-working, and over-achieving maid always misunderstands her instructions. Imagine the material that Parish had to work with from her experience teaching children. As a parent, we are not always clear with the instructions we give our children. One minute we tell them "go", but the very next word out of our mouth is "stop". Parents can also be very hypocritical, telling children not to do something as we are doing it ourselves. I recall seeing a parent once telling her child not to speak with his mouth full, and as she was saying it, she had a mouthful of food herself!

No one ever said that the English language was easy to read or understand. There are many words that sound the same, yet have different meanings. Through her books, Parish attempts to teach children that words can have several meanings. According to Judith Gloyer, in the School Library Journal, "young children struggling to master odd usages find enormous pleasure in Amelia Bedelia." (School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly 19 Apr. 1999: 75 Literature Resource Center. Web.15 June 2010.) Through all of the mishaps and blunders that Amelia Bedelia found herself in, no one could help but notice that Amelia Buddleia's heart was in the right place. Unfortunately, there was a huge misinterpretation of the instructions given. If one would take a close look at the instructions, Amelia Bedelia was usually right, even though the task that she completed was wrong. Cynthia Samuels also noted in the New York Times Book Review, that both parents and children can learn from Amelia's employers, Mr. and Mrs. Rogers. They always come to understand Amelia's confusions and admit that the language, not the user, is the culprit. (New York Times Book Review, Publishers Weekly 19 Apr. 1999: 75 Literature Resource Center. Web.15 June 2010.)