Herman Parish gave some strange advice to Upper Freehold Regional Elementary School students last week.
JEFF GRANIT staff Author Herman Parish, of Princeton, talks to Upper Freehold Regional Elementary School students about the Amelia Bedelia series his aunt, Peggy Parish, created in 1963. He warned third-graders against sticking their eyeballs on the teacher when she asks for all eyes on her and told them not to rearrange trash around the kitchen when parents ask for the garbage to be taken out. Parish, a Princeton resident and author of Amelia Bedelia books, was giving students a lesson in idioms, which are peculiar expressions that cannot be understood from the individual meanings of their elements.
To impart the lesson, Parish spoke to the children about the wacky world of Amelia Bedelia, a character his aunt, Peggy Parish, created in 1963 to teach kids about tricky idioms. In the children’s book series, the character, a maid, takes everything she is told literally, which often gets her in trouble.
“When Amelia Bedelia is told to dust the furniture, she thinks it means put dust on the furniture,” Parish said. “When she is told to put out the lights, she unscrews every light bulb and puts them outside like laundry.”
JEFF GRANIT staff Herman Parish talks about the Amelia Bedelia series his aunt Peggy Parish created to teach children about idioms in the Upper Freehold Regional Elementary School. Principal Kelly Huggins helped hammer the lesson home by putting on an Amelia Bedelia costume and demonstrating how the housekeeper would “dress chickens” for dinner. She pulled two hens from her oversized pocket book, one dressed in a tuxedo and the other in an evening gown.
When a student told Huggins, “No, you’re supposed to put seasons on them,” Parish asked, “Which ones, winter and spring?”
Parish said his aunt wrote 12 Amelia Bedelia books. He told the children that illustrator Fritz Siebel fashioned the character after Peggy, who “never let go of her purse” and whose specialty, like Amelia Bedelia’s was making lemon meringue pie.
The books were so loved by children of all ages that when Peggy passed away suddenly in 1988 at the age of 61, the family continued to receive thousands of letters each year from kids inquiring about new Amelia Bedelia books. Herman, who worked in advertising, took the correspondence to heart and decided to try his hand at creating new scenarios for the maid. He later discovered that the Rodgers in the books were named after his great-grandparents, who had a housekeeper like Amelia Bedelia.
JEFF GRANIT staff Top: Upper Freehold Regional Elementary School Principal Kelly Huggins portrays Amelia Bedelia and dusts third grade teacher Ken Mount Nov. 13. Right: An Upper Freehold Regional Elementary School student listens to author Herman Parish talk about Amelia Bedelia. “The Rodgers actually had a young housekeeper who was good with children, but as nice as she was, she was hopeless when it came to housework,” he said.
“When she was told to sweep around the room, she swept the edges of the room and left all of the dust in the middle. It’s exactly how Amelia Bedelia would have done the job.”
Parish told the students that the idea for his first Amelia Bedelia book, “Good Driving, Amelia Bedelia,” came from a trip in the country he took with his wife.
“We came to a T-intersection and I asked my wife, ‘Do I turn left?” and she said right,” Parish said.
He noted that when spoken, the word his wife used could have any number of meanings, including a direction and correct, which led him directly into the world of Amelia Bedelia. Parish now carries a notebook with him wherever he goes to record all that he sees on the 24-hour “Amelia Bedelia channel.” The notes have turned into 14 new books about the housekeeper, of which “Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey” is the latest.
Parish also confided that the next Amelia Bedelia book will feature the maid as a child on her first day of school. He encouraged the students to read the original book in the series, which their school library has and to keep reading, regardless of whether they like novels, comic books or magazines.
“Read what you like to read, but keep reading,” he said.
The school’s PTA sponsored the author visit. Beth Katz, a member of the PTA who organized the event, said Parish helped students get excited about books.
“When they hear about the writing process from a local author, it makes it seem like something that is within their reach,” Katz said.
PTA Vice President Anita Kinney said the PTA gives parents and teachers the ability to work together to bring enriching programs to students. She said prior to the author visit, students were asked to write essays about why they wanted to meet the author. The best essay writers in the school either received an autographed book from Parish or had the opportunity to have lunch with him.
The students who won books were Christopher Sheverman, Briana Shifrin, Stevie Zomer, Jose Martinez, Youcef Solteni, Madeline Aylwerd, Arianna Baio, Elizabeth Olshanetsku, Valerie Kiel, Marina Spaltro and Jenna Suralik.
The students who won lunch with the author were Carley O’Rourke, Carly Roche, Brian Eider, Natalie Smires, Hadley Borkowski, Max Allen, Ricky Mottram, Ryan Howell, Suzie Pardo, Austin Poll, Bailey McLaughlin and Marina McCormick.