Amelia Bedelia and the Cat

Amelia Bedelia

by Herman Parish, Lynn Sweat (Illustrator)

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!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Middle Grade, Cats, 2nd Grade

48 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2008

About the author

Herman Parish (born 1953) is the author of Amelia Bedelia children's book series, nephew of original author, Peggy Parish. Having grown up with his aunt’s tales of Amelia’s humorous misadventures, Herman decided to carry on the legacy after his aunt’s death in 1988. He did not wish to entrust the future of the series into the hands of a children’s author outside of the family. Since Peggy had the summers off from teaching, she was able to stay with the Parish family for extended periods of time, allowing Herman and Peggy to develop a close relationship. More importantly, this gave Herman a chance to keenly observe Peggy during her writing processes, gaining great insight to the road ahead of him. To carry on the essence of the series, Herman thoroughly examined his aunt’s work and did his best to capture what exactly made the character of Amelia Bedelia such a hit. Having editor Susan Hirschman and illustrator Lynn Sweat in common with his aunt helped to make the transition. He has added thirteen more books to the series. Herman is a resident of Princeton, New Jersey, and travels to libraries and schools across the United States, speaking and inspiring young children. The importance of revising and editing is often stressed during these dynamic lectures. He has presented to students in more than 22 states.

-Wikipedia

***The photo at left is of Herman with his aunt, Peggy Parish, in 1985.

Reviews

[Stay Fetters · Rating 3 out of 5]

I swear, Amelia is the only person to find a cat and a dog while its raining heavily.
Get it together girl and stop taking things so literally.

[FirnMamaMakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute & typical content but not the best of the Amelia Bedelia books, feels forced.

[♥♣Mary♦♠ If She So Pleases · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read. =)

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am not a big cat person but the kitten is cute.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Mom. You have *got* to read this," my daughter told me. "She is so funny."

This Amelia Bedelia book is filled with cat and dog puns and word play. While I always have a special place for the Peggy Parish Amelia Bedelia books (nostalgia I suppose), my children just love Amelia Bedelia. I began reading this aloud it didn't take long before all three of my children were gathered around, giggling at Amelia's logic.

[Lynnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can't speak to how great this book is for young readers, but my toddler loves to hear it read out loud. we are quite sick of it. also, saying Amelia Bedelia gazillions of times is not fun. illustrations are typical simple drawings you can expect in the series and the story is also a traditional Amelia Bedelia debacle.

[Kelsey Kitchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a funny book, Amelia takes everything so literally. Like in the book when they say it is going to rain cats anf dogs she thinks that she may get a new pet. It teaches you that you cant always take what peaple say litterally. It is a funny book and a good book to read to your class.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The frequently confused maid finds a kitten and attempts to learn about proper cat care. This is a cute book with lots of Amelia's silly mistakes. I'm not a fan of any kind of "oops, my cat had kittens" content, however...especially for a book written in the 21st century.

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only Amelia could find a lost cat on a day where it was raining cats and dogs.

[Vicki Bivens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Are you a lion or are you telling the truth or lying, or is your name Mr. Lyon, or are you lying down or???

[Jessie Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cute story. This one introduces kids to colloquialisms.

[Elizabeth Larsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny everybody book, great for kids of all ages. -Recommended by Irene, 2nd Grader

[Aimee Fuhrman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not as good as the original series (maybe the figures of speech and idioms are running low), but still cute.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book as a kid and my children love it now. My 10 year old can read it by herself which is great!

[Tara DuBose-Schmitt]

There do not need to be any more Amelia Bedelia books written.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Amelia Bedelia books and her play on words for the kids!!

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia and the Cat (I Can Read! Amelia Bedelia: Level 2) by Herman Parish – One of my favorite characters! Happy Reading!

[Lorie Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

a cute read was fun like this read would recommend for all ages.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars
Amelia Bedelia finds a cat

[Carolynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many Amelia Bedelia books are hilarious fun (and, incidentally, can be used to teach children about homonyms)but this one does not fill the bill. (Amelia Bedelia would think "pelican" here.) Amelia is getting a tad too savvy and her employers are a bit too tolerant--the inevitable conflict between the bewildered Mr. and Mrs. Rogers and the befuddled Amelia and its inevitable resolution with a superb baked offering was part of the charm of the earlier books. And the word play is just not as much fun in this book. However, there is a sweet "maid finds cat" story so cat fanciers may find something to love here. The lexile measure is 400 for the book (140 for the original)and the Lexile site says the book is for ages 5 to 9, but I think fourth graders would be bored with this.

[Erika Tortorice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good picture storybook that a still learning higher level read could easily read. The story was interestingly laid out with Amelia Bedlia taking everything literally when anyone spoke to her with an idiom. When Mrs. Rogers said it was going to rain cats and dogs, Ameilia exclaimed she could get a free pet. This book shows children words used are not always what they mean. She continues her journey of trying to find out how to care for a kitten after finding it outside. The storyline keeps getting more intricate with each page. This could easily be used in a classroom to show the use of idioms.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poor Amelia. Idioms and homophones are so confusing for her. She walked by a garage sale, but she didn't stop becasue she didn't need to buy a garage. And she definitely didn't want any fleas from the flea market! She called the zoo and talked to a Mr Lyon. Amelia was amazed -- she had never talked to a lion before!

A classic funny Amelia tale, with Lynn Sweat continuing her famous illustrations. Ages 5-8.

[Sandra Y. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is yet another hilarious story with Amelia Bedelia; this book focuses on Amelia not really understanding idioms and homophones! The trouble starts with the weather reporter saying that it’s going to rain cats and dogs; from there she finds a cat, and the silliness just snowballs from there. Very funny with cute illustrations that depict exactly what Amelia’s thinking. I would recommend this story for kindergarten and up.

[Jennie]

Amelia Bedelia drives everyone crazy with her literal translations of everything. This time she finds a cat, names it Tiger and trouble starts from there. (Mrs. Rogers did say it would rain cats and dogs today). In the end she finds a dog, which confirms her belief that it rains cats and dogs. Very funny for the younger reader/listener. gr. K-2.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[Kelsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amelia Bedelia used to be one of my favorite books when I was younger. In this book Amelia Bedelia is told that it’s going to rain cats and dogs outside and she takes it literally, especially when she finds a little kitten in the garden.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happened to Peggy Parish? I feel like she did this better.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mommy's comments: First time reading an Amelia Bedlia book....really enjoyed the way Amelia takes everything literally...great way to talk about sayings.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Great book for kids learning to read. I did not think it was as funny as some of the others, but begging readers love it, and that is what counts.

[Ellie Dietzen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious book. A longer book for children who are skilled readers but not ready for chapter books quite yet. Older children will understand the jokes in the book.