Author brings books to life for children
Five-year-old Menger Morgan, a pre-kindergartner at Oakbrook Country Day School in Evans, went to the front of the storytime room at Appleby Branch Library to help Amelia Bedelia with her special roll call.
Oakbrook Country Day School preschooler Sarah Adams, 5, role plays with Amelia Bedelia at Appleby Branch Library on June 9.
Photo by Samantha McKevie
"Here, roll. Come here, roll," he and Amelia called to a bread roll on the floor as children and adults laughed and clapped.
Amelia Bedelia, a maid in children's books who always messes up by taking things too literally, was at the library for a special storytime last month.
Amelia brought several items from scenes from the books.
She showed the roomful of parents, children and day-school instructors the sponge she used to make a sponge cake and told of the time she cut up a calendar to make a date cake. She also showed the bag of chips she used to make chocolate chip cookies and the safety pins she used to pin up a woman's hair when she worked at a hair salon.
Children were encouraged to assist Amelia in skits such as jumping rope to help her practice playing, from a story in which Amelia was a substitute teacher and "practice play" was one of her instructions.
"She was really silly," Menger said.
Jordie St. Perrie, 5, an Oakbrook pupil, helped Amelia plant bulbs.
"I had to put a light bulb in a flower pot," Jordie said. "That was funny."
After spending nearly an hour telling stories, including one about the time she used her perfumed body powder to dust furniture, Amelia pulled out the scented talc and dabbed a little onto the shirts of the attendees - adults included - as they left the room.
"She put funny powder on us, and it smelled funny," said Sarah Adams, 5, another Oakbrook pupil. The children said they wanted Amelia to return so they could see her again.
Amelia's visit allowed Allison Garner to meet someone she had been seeing through pictures at home.
"I got a lot of 'Melia Bedelia books," she said. "My dad reads them to me."