Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie

December 1, 2010

PreS-Gr 2-This third book featuring the young and modernized Amelia is more of a traditional picture book than an easy reader, and the oversize format allows for plenty of space for the many activities that take place. Pictures in fall colors are in various sizes, from full page to several smaller illustrations per page, featuring apples, pumpkins, and autumn-hued leaves. Here, Amelia is visiting her grandparents and making a pie with Grandma. She's still up to her typical antics, mistaking Granny Smith for a person and thinking that a farmer's market is a place to buy farmers. Children will find the humor relevant and funny. The illustrations flow well with the text; the words are placed in a manner that creates movement, guiding the eye from picture to picture. This is a great book to use for a fall unit or storyhour. The apple pie recipe is included at the end.-Lora Van Marel, Orland Park Public Library, IL

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2011
While visiting her grandparents, young Amelia Bedelia helps Grandma make apple pie. When a flock of swallows "swallows the whole thing," Amelia surprises everyone with her own tiny pie. Though the puns don't all hit the mark, enough of them are funny. The autumnal illustrations, with lots of reds and oranges, convey the Bedelias' familial warmth.

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)