✦Peggy Parish · Reading companion
Amelia Bedelia stories
Bring the first Amelia Bedelia book and explore word meanings, picture clues, and clearer instructions.
A book to read together
Amelia Bedelia stories
Original prompts to use with your copy.
This original Curiosi reading companion focuses on Amelia Bedelia by Peggy Parish, first illustrated by Fritz Siebel. Use a family or library copy of that book. The series includes other creators and editions, so check the names in your copy before exploring another title. These activities invite playful curiosity about language.
Notice that words can have choices
Before reading, say the word “bat.” Invite a drawing of an animal and a drawing of a piece of sports equipment. What extra words would help a listener know which one you mean? Look at the book’s cover together, then ask what clues words and pictures might offer when a meaning is uncertain.
Find the clue around a phrase
While reading your copy, pause when the child notices a misunderstanding. Ask how each person seems to understand the words. Look at the surrounding sentence, the situation, and the picture. Which clue helps you explain the difference? Give the child time to enjoy the joke before discussing it, and avoid treating an unfamiliar expression as a mistake.
Make an instruction clearer
After reading, choose one instruction from your copy to discuss. What question might have clarified its meaning? Try describing the intended action in simpler words without copying a whole passage. Explore how both speakers and listeners help communication: one can add a detail, and the other can ask what is meant.
Create a two-meaning picture card
Choose a different everyday word with two meanings, such as “ring” or “bark.” Fold reused paper into two panels and draw one meaning on each. A partner invents a sentence that points clearly to one picture. Swap roles. If a sentence fits both, work together to add a helpful clue rather than choosing a winner.
Your turn to read
Keep the conversation going
There is no single right answer. Invite young readers to notice, wonder and imagine.
Which clue helped explain a misunderstanding?
What question could make an instruction clearer?
How did an extra detail change your own sentence?
Make something: Draw a simple three-step task, such as arranging a drawing space. Give the instructions to a partner, let them ask questions, then revise one step to make it clearer.
