Now almost 18 years later, Parish still visits schools and talks to children about the books, which is how the idea for the child-version of Amelia Bedelia developed. In turn, his son, Stan, now also a writer, would mark which parts of the manuscript were funny, not funny or very funny. Parish once handed a manuscript for one of his early Amelia Bedelia books to his son. Parish's son was in elementary school when his father began writing the series - about the same age Parish was when his aunt brought Amelia Bedelia to life while working as a school teacher.

It was nice to go from telling those stories into telling these stories,' Parish said. 'I was a copy writer and creative director, doing commercials for Hallmark. Parish, 60, has written 27 Amelia Bedelia titles in all, including the first two Amelia Bedelia chapter books coming out Tuesday. What readers may not know is that Peggy Parish's nephew, Herman Parish, has continued where his aunt left off when she died in 1988. PHOTOS: Amelia Bedelia Through The Years, From 1963 to the Present Today Greenwillow Books, the book series' publisher, which is a division of Harper Collins, is releasing a 50th anniversary edition of Amelia Bedelia with drawings by the original illustrator Fritz Siebel and a behind-the-scenes look at how the series evolved. The late author Peggy Parish wrote the first Amelia Bedelia book in 1963, eventually writing a dozen picture stories that chronicled the house maid's penchant for literal interpretation, such as sketching curtains on paper when asked to 'draw the drapes.' 29, 2013 — - Possibly the most successful house maid in the world, the children's book character Amelia Bedelia, turns 50 today, with a new line of books to mark the milestone.

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