Title: Calling Doctor Amelia Bedelia
Author: Herman Parish
Illustrator: Lynn Sweat
Genre: Children’s Book
Age group: Lower Elementary
Rating: 2 stars
Although I love the Amelia Bedelia series, I find this book to be a little challenging for young readers. The reading itself is doable, however the amount of puns included in the story may be challenging for beginners. For example, there is one page that deals with “drawing blood,” where the patient literally draws with markers, his blood. Little puns like this are on every page, and after reading this aloud to two second graders, it was evident that they were confused on the content. As an adult, I found the story to be humorous and entertaining, but I could understand the confusion for a young child.
The illustrations added to the text, with a sketchy style and bold colors. Simplistic and to the point, the images did a good job of illustrating what was written in the text, although they do not give the reader any additional insight other than what is already written.
I think this book would be fine to have in a classroom for children to read in their free time, but I don’t think it would be the best choice in terms of a read-aloud to the class. It isn’t guaranteed that all the students would understand the ironic puns and underlying jokes in the story, and for this reason I think I would shy away from using it in a group setting.
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