Amelia Bedelia and the Cat by Herman Parish, Lynn Sweat (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Leave it to Amelia Bedelia to find a real cat on a day it's "raining cats and dogs." She names him Tiger, and in no time, the two are inseparable and as happy as clams.

But then Tiger gets into trouble. Will Amelia Bedelia go out on a limb to save him?

The cat's out of the bag—this is an irresistible Amelia Bedelia adventure!

Children's Literature

Everyone's favorite scatterbrained housekeeper is back in this addition to the "Amelia Bedelia" series of books. Amelia Bedelia finds a stray kitten and learns how to care for it, encountering many confusing figures of speech as she goes along. Just as always in this series of books, Amelia is a silly character who takes common figures of speech literally, causing several miscommunications and amusing interactions throughout her day. When Mrs. Rogers offers to give Amelia "a lift" to town, Amelia responds, "I am too heavy for you to lift." When she passes a "garage sale" she says, "I do not need to buy a garage." This silly tone is a trademark of books about Amelia Bedelia. The text is written simply in short sentences, appropriate for the beginning reader. Illustrations are uncomplicated and child-like, done in a traditional illustrative style. A fun book to add to a beginning reader's classroom or home bookshelf, this would also be useful as part of an elementary English classroom when discussing figures of speech. Reviewer: Carly Reagan

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3

Readers may predict trouble when Mrs. Rogers asks Amelia Bedelia for an umbrella because, "They say it is going to rain cats and dogs." Then the maid hears a "MEOW" while watching a cat-shaped cloud, and a tiger-striped kitten jumps out of the garden. As always, Amelia Bedelia is bewildered by idioms, and she frustrates people with her own word choices. Fluent readers will chuckle at these misunderstandings, and will be delighted with the suspense and plotting. They may also pick up a bit of information about pet care. The generous trim size is wider than that in most early readers, allowing many sentences to be printed without line breaks. Sweat's cheerful and expressive watercolor and black-pen illustrations extend the story. Another winning addition.-Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI

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