Author: Herman Parish
Illustrator: Lynne Avril
© Date: 2015
Publisher: Scholastic Inc
Pages: 143
Chapters: Yes
Illustrations: Yes, every page has some sort of illustration
Publisher Recommended Age: 6-10 years
Bonus Activities at End of Book: Kinda, descriptions of different kinds of dances and a description for two ways to say things
Summary from Book: Amelia Bedelia does not want to take dance classes. She loves to dance for fun, but ballet is not her cup of tea, and she is sure that Dana’s School of Dance will be super boring. But guess what? Surprising teachers, new steps, cool kids, and even a pesky ballet bun inspire Amelia Bedelia and her classmates to dance up a storm!
Look out! Here comes Amelia Bedelia, and she is tapping, swinging, jumping, and spinning. Brava!
Note: This review is done from memory. I originally read this a short bit ago.
Page Pig Thoughts: Reading this one reminds me how much I enjoy the Amelia Bedelia chapter books and that it had been too long since we’d read one. We were very excited to find a new one that we hadn’t read yet at the library. I truly love Amelia Bedelia and her literal take on words, but even moreso her ability to roll with life and try new things. The chapter books are always a sweet story of Amelia Bedelia navigating life with innocence, resourcefulness, and humor; not with the drama that lots of other stories are involved in.
In this one, I adored the dance recital that highlighted each child’s unique skills and personality. I also really enjoyed the ugly duckling meets swan lake. But I loved Amelia Bedelia rolling with the options that life presented for her recital hairdo. She initially planned to use one of her Dad’s stray socks to help her hairdo. When he reclaimed his sock, Amelia Bedelia did not fuss or whine, she just evaluated her options to find a new solution. She was even a good sport when her dad made some jokes about her hairdo solution. Which was also a good reminder of how easy it is to make a joke about something in a child’s day, but maybe using caution to appreciate a child’s journey is smart.
These stories definitely get Page Pup thumbs up. I expect that more will continue to find their way into our home, hooray for different Amelia Bedelia style stories to enjoy!
Family Unit: Amelia Bedelia lives with her mother, father, and dog, Finally. This book also has her Aunt Wanda.
Conflict/Social Issues:
- Amelia Bedelia doesn’t really want to go to dance class, she really wants to take a drumming class.
- Amelia Bedelia’s dance teacher breaks her leg at home and cannot continue teaching/coordinating dance class.
- Amelia Bedelia and her dance class friends are not always sure about the different styles of dance that are being explored each day.
Positive Items:
- Amelia Bedelia decides to give dance class a try, and finds dances that she enjoys and makes new friends.
- After the dance teacher, Dana, breaks her leg at home, lots of people work together to continue on a dance class for children.
- Amelia Bedelia and her dance class friends try new things and discover new dance styles that they enjoy.
- Amelia Bedelia and her dance class friends are able to put on a recital that offers their own perspectives on different dance styles and highlights their own unique skills.
Items of Interest:
- Amelia Bedelia and her mother are adventurous and follow Aunt Wanda to a tap dancing adventure at a local store.
- Amelia Bedelia’s father is vacuums up the popcorn that Amelia Bedelia and her mother accidentally spread all over the living room before they left for dancing.
- Aunt Wanda signs Amelia Bedelia up for a dance class. Even though she is not excited about dancing and doesn’t have any friends in the class, Amelia Bedelia goes to class anyway.
- The dance class has a variety of different dances demonstrated and for the children to try. Each of the children in the class has a different dance strength.
- Amelia Bedelia’s dance teacher, Dana, slips on her wet back steps and breaks her leg.
- Aunt Wanda helps keep the dance class running and coordinated after the teacher is out.
- Once of Amelia Bedelia’s classmates helps her learn how to put a bun in her hair, the actual hairdo, but yes, later it is a bread related joke.
- The class learns about two different dance styles that have boys in skirts when the Polynesian Society and Celtic Club arrive.
- Aunt Wanda asks Amelia Bedelia about having a dance recital at the end of class. Amelia Bedelia and her friends are then inspired to choreograph and put on a dance show for their teacher.
- After a few dad jokes, Amelia Bedelia and her family have a hug at the end of recital day, they include Aunt Wanda.
Other Books in Series (At Time of Posting):
- Twelve books are currently in this series, but Amelia Bedelia comes in several formats with series