Amelia Bedelia's First Valentine

January 4, 2010
Love is in the air for Amelia Bedelia, in the second story to feature the literal-minded heroine as a child. She gives away her card-playing mother's hand—“Look at all those valentines!”—and fixes valentine cards that confuse her (she puts a bandage across a broken heart on one that reads “Hi Heartbreaker!”). And when she leaves the valentines on the bus, she has to improvise using playing cards. Her ingenuous spirit will continue to capture hearts. Ages 4–8.

December 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 1-A typical Amelia Bedelia story, tailored for younger readers. Young Amelia Bedelia makes valentines for her classmates with adorable misunderstandings. For instance, she sticks a Band-Aid on a card that says, "Heartbreaker" and puts a blanket on a valentine that mentions being cool. The book's pink, flowery appearance will appeal to young girls. While the content is sweet and the illustrations are well done in color sketches with imperfect lines, resulting in a relaxed feel, the text isn't memorable in the least. Younger children may giggle at a few of the pictures such as of Amelia as a wolf, wolfing down breakfast, but the writing doesn't live up to Peggy Parish's clever and ingenious original books. A supplemental purchase for elementary school libraries and classrooms that can't get enough of Amelia Bedelia.-Shalini Miskelly, St. Benedict Catholic School, Seattle, WA

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