“I hope we have cones too!” said Amelia Bedelia.
The morning zoomed by. Soon it was time for recess. As the class walked down the hallway on their way outside, Amelia Bedelia had a sudden idea. She darted into the main office for a moment. When she was done, she headed to the stump table. She smiled. She couldn’t wait for the party.
When Amelia Bedelia and her friends returned from lunch, they discovered that all their desks had been pushed together. There were huge tubs of ice cream in familiar flavors like chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, and in unexpected flavors such as blueberry cheesecake, avocado, and maple ripple. There was whipped cream, every kind of fruit from bananas to pineapple, plus toppings like hot fudge, caramel, strawberry sauce, sprinkles, walnuts, gummy bears, and cherries. There was root beer for root beer floats and chocolate soda for ice cream sodas. And even a blender for making milkshakes.
“We’ve got everything but the kitchen sink!” said Mrs. Shauk.
“Thank goodness,” said Amelia Bedelia. She joined Candy at the table and started making herself a banana split.
“Oops!” Candy dropped a blob of hot fudge on her shirt.
“Oh no,” said Amelia Bedelia.
“Don’t worry,” said Candy. “I learned my lesson. From now on I only wear clothes to school that I don’t mind getting dirty. I don’t want to miss out on any fun.”
“So what did you and your friends do for fun in your old neighborhood, Candy?” asked Wade.
Candy smiled. “I’d rather hear about my new town. Like, what do you guys like to do on weekends?”
“Art classes at the Upcycling Art Studio,” said Daisy.
“I volunteer at the animal shelter too,” said Amelia Bedelia.
As Clay and Cliff launched into an explanation of the best bike paths in town, Mrs. Shauk, who had just taken a big spoonful of her sundae, couldn’t help but blurt out, “Great polite conversation, class!”
Amelia Bedelia stared at her teacher. “Mind your manners, Mrs. Shauk!” she said. “You know you are not supposed to talk with your mouth full!”
The class froze and the room fell silent. Everyone stared at Amelia Bedelia. Then they stared at Mrs. Shauk. Was Mrs. Shauk going to get angry?
But she just wiped her mouth with a napkin and smiled. “Thank you, Amelia Bedelia. We could all use a reminder from time to time.”
KNOCK! KNOCK!
Amelia Bedelia dashed over to open the door, with Mrs. Shauk on her heels. And there stood their substitute teacher. “Mrs. Shauk, allow me to introduce Sergeant Strickland,” said Amelia Bedelia. “I hope it’s okay that I invited him to our ice-cream party.”
“Of course it is, Amelia Bedelia!” said Mrs. Shauk. “Sergeant Strickland, it is lovely to meet you. Thank you so much for taking care of my class during my absence.”
“It was my pleasure,” said Sergeant Strickland.
“Are you sure?” asked Amelia Bedelia.
He nodded. “I am.”
“Help yourself,” said Mrs. Shauk, pointing to the ice-cream table.
“Don’t mind if I do,” said Sergeant Strickland.
“Why, Amelia Bedelia,” said Mrs. Shauk. “What a lovely idea to invite Sergeant Strickland. I see you really did learn how to mind your manners while I was away.”
“Well, he did a great job teaching us,” explained Amelia Bedelia. “Plus, I knew he’d hate to miss it.”
Sergeant Strickland joined them, balancing a double-dip cone of chocolate chip and rocky road.
“Thanks for inviting me,” said Sergeant Strickland. “Especially since I am a Major Catastrophe.”
Amelia Bedelia blushed. “Actually,” she said, “we are all so grateful to you for teaching us manners that we promoted you . . . from Major Catastrophe to General Nuisance.”
“Amelia Bedelia, mind your manners!” said Mrs. Shauk.
Sergeant Strickland turned and saluted the class. Amelia Bedelia and her friends saluted him back. And for the first time since they had met him, Sergeant Strickland cracked a smile. It was a small one, but it was a smile just the same. And that was enough for Amelia Bedelia.
Two Ways to Say It
How to Fold a Cloth Napkin into a Rose
About the Author and Illustrator
HERMAN PARISH was in the fourth grade when his aunt, Peggy Parish, wrote the first book about Amelia Bedelia.
LYNNE AVRIL has illustrated all the stories about young Amelia Bedelia.
www.ameliabedeliabooks.com
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Copyright
Art was created digitally in Adobe Photoshop.
Amelia Bedelia is a registered trademark of Peppermint Partners, LLC.
AMELIA BEDELIA & FRIENDS MIND THEIR MANNERS. Text copyright © 2021 by Herman S. Parish III. Illustrations copyright © 2021 by Lynne Avril. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Cover art © 2021 by Lynne Avril
Cover design by Sylvie Le Floc’h
Library of Congress Control Number: 2020952190
ISBN 978-0-06-296190-7 (hardback)—ISBN 978-0-06-296189-1 (paperback)
Digital Edition MARCH 2021 ISBN: 978-0-06-296191-4
Print ISBN: 978-0-06-296190-7
2122232425PC/LSCH10987654321
FIRST EDITION
Greenwillow Books
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