Amelia Bedelia Means Business

Amelia Bedelia fans will welcome her bumbling leap (in a good way) into a new chapter-book series. Although the character turns 50 in 2013, this book follows the literal-minded heroine’s exploits and misunderstandings as a pigtailed girl. When Amelia’s mother remarks that the fancy bike that her daughter covets must cost an arm and a leg, Amelia replies that she’d never pay that much. “You need both your arms to steer a bike like that, and both legs to pedal it.” Her parents’ offer to split the cost of a bike with her leads to a short-lived job at a diner; a customer who’s in a rush orders pie, telling her to “step on it”—no surprise what happens next. Amelia’s second job ends equally disastrously after she opens a lemonade stand at a car dealership, with a sign that advertises “Lots of Lemons!” Parish and Avril bring this zingy novel to a conclusion that is chaotic, even by Amelia Bedelia’s standards, proving that her legacy is in capable hands. Available simultaneously: Amelia Bedelia Unleashed. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 7–10. (Feb.)