For those who don’t know Amelia Bedelia is a maid, which by and large, means that she is receiving instruction often.
The problem with this, is that Amelia Bedelia is a literalist, that means that anything you tell her to do, she will do to the letter.
For example, if you ask Amelia Bedelia to scale and ice the fish, then in this book at least she will put them on a scale for a while before icing them in chocolate frosting.
Similarly pruning the shrubs involves skewering prunes onto stray branches.
The kicker of course is the surprise shower (a surprise bridal shower) which ends up being a surprise hose showering of the bride and the guests in the back yard.
The book ends with all the soaked guests laughing uproariously to each other, which is a great way to end, though not likely to garner any points for realism, but doesn’t make it any less magical.
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HarperCollins, 1994 64 pages ISBN: 9780064440196
Suggested Reading Level: Ages 4+ Levelled Reading Level: 2
Parish, P. (1994). Amelia Bedelia and the surprise shower. New York: HarperCollins.