A literal-minded housekeeper causes chaos in the Rogers household when she attempts to make sense of some instructions.

Amelia Bedelia shows her niece Effie Lou how to follow instructions to the letter as they dust the potato bugs and sew seeds.

"Amelia Bedelia is sick the day her class goes to visit the zoo. She doesn't want to be left out, so she comes up with a brilliant idea--she'll create a zoo in her backyard, using all her classmates' pets. But she doesn't know exactly how to tell her parents about her great plan"--

When Amelia Bedelia's aunt gives her dance lessons as an early birthday present, she agrees to give it a try and soon finds herself making new friends and discovering that there is something to like about many different kinds of dancing.

Amelia Bedelia has a wonderful time at her first slumber party.

Literal-minded even as a child, Amelia Bedelia muddles through Valentine's Day with her heart on her sleeve, trying to make sense of strange greetings at school and home, and ever on the look-out for the arrows of Cupid.

While helping to prepare a surprise shower, Amelia Bedelia and her cousin make some arrangements that are not quite what the guests expected.

"Amelia Bedelia turns bad luck into good luck"--

Amelia Bedelia's after-school routine includes playing on her swing set every day, but when she discovers that robins are building a nest atop her slide, she watches them raise a family, instead.

"Amelia Bedelia's mother loves garage sales so much, she decides to have one herself! But Amelia Bedelia loves her garage and does not want to sell it, so she and her parents decide to call it a yard sale instead. People come from all over the neighborhood to buy Amelia Bedelia and her parents' old things, and one woman even buys the yard!"--