Amelia Bedelia Cleans Up

Herman Parish's Amelia Bedelia Cleans Up is a funny chapter book for 6 year olds about three friends, a junk-filled empty plot and one very big oak tree.

What happens

Amelia Bedelia, Holly and Heather are bored. So they start a club with just one rule. No being bored! When it comes to choosing a president, Amelia Bedelia votes for the smartest, prettiest, most adventurous explorer she knows (herself, obviously).

Off they go on their bikes to find a clubhouse. Amelia Bedelia takes a shortcut through an empty plot and sails straight over her handlebars. She's fine, and very glad of her helmet. Her bike is not.

But lying on her back she spots the most enormous oak tree. It's perfect for a tree house!

There's just one problem. The plot is full of rubbish. Old tyres, a fridge, a board with nails in it and, yes, a kitchen sink. Dad thinks the whole idea is dangerous, hazardous and perilous (Amelia Bedelia keeps hearing "us" on the end of every word).

So she tries a few questions on her mum. Isn't Mum always talking about giving back to the community? Couldn't they give back by taking stuff away? Then she asks for the kale (a very clever move).

This is the sixth Amelia Bedelia chapter book. The clean-up is a family job, and it's lovely. Dad gives up his golf, plays tyre bowling and pretends every squashed can is a priceless antique.

Then a FOR SALE sign goes up. The girls wonder if they could pool their pocket money and buy it. An estate agent tells them plots round there go for "two-fifty, maybe three", and Amelia Bedelia thinks that's her allowance. Who wouldn't?

The jokes are the kind young readers love to spot. Someone says the plot is an eyesore and Amelia Bedelia rubs her eyes. Someone else is "barking up the wrong tree" while the dogs are barking at a cat in the right one.

There's a gently spooky house next door too, with cobwebs, an attic and a curtain that twitches. It's more mysterious than scary.

Expect American words like vacant lot and allowance, and prices in dollars. There are little nods to earlier adventures, but nothing your reader needs to have read first.

What to read next

If they love the idea of a club with their best friends, Amelia Bedelia Makes a Splash turns that on its head. She's planned a whole summer with her friends, and then her parents book her into a sleepaway camp for eight weeks.