Lynne Cravath

In my opinion, “Amelia Bedelia’s First Library Card” is a good book for young children because it teaches how valuable a library is to school age children. It not only teaches children a lesson on the use of a library, but also demonstrates how to check out a book, discusses different physical areas of the library, and emphasizes the importance of children learning to read effectively for school. One of the qualities that I like about this book is that the plot of the story is very relevant to children in school. The story starts with Ameila visiting the library with her teacher and classmates for the first time. The librarian named Miss Reilly talks about checking books in and out, how important a library card is for checking out books, and how to take care of the books. Ameila Bedelia’s teacher hands out the library cards to the students and says, “Here is a library card for each one of you. Now you can check out books whenever you like.” Another quality of the book I enjoyed was the illustrations of Lynne Avril. Her illustrations were well-suited and helped the story come alive, especially when Ameila is exploring the library with her class. When Ameila’s book was left out in the rain, the storm pictures and the pictures of her nightmare she had, showed emotions that applied to the particular situation. As the story progresses, the audience is able to see the consequence Ameila encounters because she did not take care of her library book. The consequence of not taking care of the book was that she had to buy a new the book for the library as a replacement. The big idea of the story is that children should go to the library and explore the different books offered, along with taking care of them so others may use them after you.… (mehr)

It’s the young Amelia Bedelia, quirky and just as literal as she ever was, back for a library adventure! Amelia and her class take a field trip to the public library. They meet the children’s librarian, the learn how to check out and return books, how they end up on the shelves and they all got a library card of their very own. Amelia wanted to check out a book about cupcakes, but accidently ended up with a book on clouds and weather. To make matters, worse, she leaves the book out in the storm and has to admit to the librarian what happened. Amelia hopes that the librarian won’t be upset about the ruined book.

What a great book for a class about to get their first library card! The pictures are engaging, the misunderstandings will make young readers laugh (book stacks vs. hay stack). The library and librarian are portrayed as a friendly, welcoming place. Students will also read that it is not a good idea to leave a book out in the rain.

I think Herman Parish has done a nice job bring to life the world of the young Amelia Bedelia. It’s definitely a bit more modern and relevant to children (versus the older Amelia as a housekeeper). This book is a great fit for Kindergarten to 1st grade going on field trips to the public library, or even learning to use a school library. I think for silent reading, it would be appropriate for slightly older students (2-3 grade). I think it’s a great fit for any library that has young patrons.… (mehr)