World of Reading 2012/Being Amelia Bedelia for a Day!

Our Junior League puts on an annual community literacy event called the World of Reading Festival. Hundreds of families and thousands of children from our area gather for free entertainment, crafts, treats, and at least 2 free books of their choosing to take home, read and keep forever. This year, I volunteered to run one of the author tents and was thrilled to learn that I’d be spending the day assisting author Herman Parish. Mr. Parish is the nephew of Amelia Bedelia creator Peggy Parrish and the current author of the Amelia Bedelia books. As a little girl, Amelia Bedelia was one of my most beloved children’s book characters—and she continues to be a favorite of my girls. We get such a kick out of the antics that ensue from her literal interpretation of common phrases.

A couple of nights before the event, Mr. Parish asked if I could wear black tights and shoes because he was bringing along a costume and props for me to play Amelia Bedelia during his reading. It was one of those moments where I thought--who am I that I get to have such a fun life!?!? And I really do! I didn’t tell the girls because they were going to be attending the event and I wanted to surprise them. The little smirky grins on the big girls’ faces when they glanced back and realized Amelia was their Mama was priceless! Little Miss K was not as impressed, and her subtle scowl hinted at the drama that would later ensue.

See the sad little short person to the left? Bless her heart, K wanted nothing to do with me in that crazy getup. Things got interesting when D had to take off for an appointment right after my performance and K became aware that she was in the custody of this Amelia Bedelia character who slightly resembled her mother. “I WANT MY DAAAAAADY!!!” she wailed, as a crowd of concerned citizens quickly gathered around us. I quickly took off the hat and costume. At this point, I think it became more of an issue of a missed nap than mistaken identity for K. She continued to pout. “Is she lost? Where are her parents?” the curious bystanders asked. “Oh, she’s mine—she’s just not so sure about this costume” I assured them. But I could tell by their confused faces that those folks’ wheels were turning, as in “lady--even without the costume, even though you're saying she's your kid, are you aware that y’all don’t match?!?” I scooped my screaming child up in my arms and made a bee line for the ice cream stand, Miss M and Miss A trailing close behind. I walked as tall and confidently as I could under the weight of their suspicious stares. A scoop of ice cream and a few minutes on the playground and all was well with my girl once again. Once I was certain she was convinced she had her Mommy back, and that the curious onlookers were satisfied that I wasn’t a kidnapper, we headed home for a nap.

We'll treasure our Amelia Bedelia books that now include personal notes from the author on their title pages. It was an honor to meet Mr. Parrish! And I will not soon forget the fun of being Amelia Bedelia for the day--or the mis-adventures of being myself in Amelia Bedelia's clothes!