Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia FROM OUR EDITORS
When Dr. Horton's waiting room fills with impatient patients, Amelia Bedelia is called to the rescue. Once again, Amelia's bad case of loony literalism complicates everything, giving us laughter, the best medicine of all. This level 2 I Can Read chapter book is enjoyable reading for boys and girls ages 4-8.
ANNOTATION
When the literal-minded Amelia Bedelia helps out at her doctor's office one busy day, nothing seems to go quite right until Amelia begins to treat the impatient patients.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Funny bones
The doctor is out! But Amelia Bedelia is ready to help a crowd of grouchy patients. Along the way she doses out some of the best medicine of all — laughter, of course!
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
"I hear a ringing in my ears." "A ringing? Maybe you should answer the doorbell." The inimitable housekeeper helps out at the doctor's office and stirs up trouble in Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia by Herman Parish, illus. by Lynn Sweat, the fourth title penned by Peggy Parish's nephew. (July) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature - Susan Hepler, Ph.D.
Amelia Bedelia is helping out at the doctor's office. Loaded with idioms concerning the body, this episode in the life of the literal-minded maid is just perfect for augmenting elementary school studies of the human body. "Lend a hand?" Nope, says Amelia Bedelia; she says she needs both of hers herself. When the angry patients threaten to revolt, ice cream solves the problem. And as usual, her long-suffering employer, Mr. Rogers, is exasperated at first but later grateful for that homemade chicken soup that helps him cure his illness. Good fun in this long-lasting series, a Level 2 Reader in the "I Can Read Book" series. 2004 (Orig. 2002), Greenwillow, Ages 4 to 8.
School Library Journal
Gr 1-2-Parish continues the series in the wacky tradition of his aunt, Peggy Parish. Dropping by her doctor's office on a busy day, Amelia Bedelia is asked by the nurse to help out until the doctor returns from the hospital. The literal-minded maid winds up fielding phone calls from patients, infuriating one and all as she interprets their symptoms incorrectly. Finally, the doctor arrives to find her office full of irate patients. Amelia Bedelia saves the day by treating everyone to ice cream. A realistic situation? Of course not. It's just another romp with the world's most clueless domestic. As always, Sweat's color drawings perfectly capture the wild goings-on. A lively addition to the series.-Lisa Smith, Lindenhurst Memorial Library, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Amelia Bedelia fans will welcome her return as she makes a hash out of helping out at the doctor's office. Amelia volunteers to help mind Dr. Horton's office while the doctor is away, thus giving her the opportunity to lay waste one idiomatic medical expression after another. As is her way, Amelia takes everything at face value, which manages to amuse the children and pique the adults. One man calls the doctor's office to complain of ringing in his ears: "A ringing? Maybe you should answer the doorbell," Amelia suggests. Amelia fields another call from a woman: "I've caught some kind of bug." Amelia recommends to "let it go. Bugs can bite." "Draw blood," "check a temperature," "take a test"-somebody get her to stop. While her literalness allays the fears of young kids, it winds up having a company of irate phone callers descend upon the doctor's office. All is saved when the ice-cream man arrives: "I told you I was treating your patients," Amelia explains to Dr. Horton, after she's rushed back to the office on hearing the news of Amelia's involvement. Sweat's appealing pen-and-watercolor art works at times like a rebus, helping young readers understand Amelia's take on the idiom. But there is little by way of story here. Parish has aimed instead for a steady-at times relentless-stream of yucks, which turns Amelia into a bit of a robot by erasing her endearing qualities. (Easy reader. 5-7)
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