The Basics

Title: Amelia Bedelia By the Yard
Author: Herman Parish
ISBN: 9780062334282
Copyright Date: 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins
Reader Brand: I Can Read!
Level: Beginning Reading 1
Series: Amelia Bedelia

Thoughts

Amelia Bedelia’s mother loves garage sales. And when she stops by one, the whole family decides that they need to clean out the clutter in their own house. But will Amelia’s garage or yard actually get sold?

The text is mostly contained on white background, with a good size beginning reader font. Most of the words are either one or two syllables, though I counted about a dozen with three syllables. Every page has an illustration for text support, providing context clues to the reader. The illustrations are childlike and appropriate. While Amelia’s family appears to be white, there is some diversity in the other people that come to the garage sale.

As someone who grew up with classic Amelia Bedelia, I was hesitant when the new versions began releasing a few years back. Would the charm of Amelia Bedelia follow into these editions? I thought that it did. It’s a different kind of mix-ups, but one that today’s kids may relate to better. Especially when “garage sale” and “yard sale” do sound like you’re selling the area!

For libraries with a strong Amelia Bedelia crowd. May be an additional purchase if you already have some Amelias and do not have a core group of readers.