When Mrs. Hardy leaves Amelia Bedelia in charge of her house and two children, she opens the door for misunderstandings and mishaps. What other babysitter would convince a passing construction crew to break ground for an addition on the house, then put everything right with her irresistible combination of goodwill and lemon meringue pie? Children may need help in making sense of the wordplay (bored meeting for board meeting), but Sweat's cheerful color-washed ink drawings clarify some ideas visually, and everything is explained in the end. Recommended for beginning readers who just can't get enough of the mistress of misunderstandings.

The perennially literal-minded maid Amelia Bedelia's unique interpretations of, among other phrases, "breaking ground" and "sanding the deck," are scattered throughout this tale of misunderstanding during a home renovation. Artful writing is a casualty of the series's need to accommodate as many Amelia-style blunders as possible, but readers will only remember the word-play jokes complemented by Sweat's deadpan art.

Gr 1-3-Mrs. Hardy is expecting an "addition" and asks Amelia Bedelia to babysit for her children while she goes to the doctor. Then workers from a construction company stop to ask Amelia for directions and Amelia looks at the address, gets the numbers backward, and convinces the workers that they were sent to build an "addition" on the Hardy family's house. The literal woman and the children start to "help" the construction workers, and it's all downhill from there. The text is a bit wordy for beginning readers and the story line is somewhat confusing. A few of the terms may be a little difficult to grasp (such as the concept of a "marble-top counter" and a "walk-in closet"). The cartoon illustrations help clarify some of Amelia Bedelia's mix-ups, but others will need explanation. Still, fans of the series will enjoy this title.-Bobbee Pennington, Bryan Public Library, TX Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.