AMELIA BEDELIA AND THE BABY

One might approach the prospect of Amelia Bedelia baby-sitting with apprehensive relish, but the misunderstandings in this session are mild ones and the verbal play almost nil Amelia doesn't know what a baby bottle is until a neighbor drops in and fixes one for little Missy; meanwhile she gives the crying baby cans and boxes because they don't break as bottles do. She interprets the mother's written directions--""Use the baby powder,"" ""nap time,"" and ""play time""--as applying to her, not the baby, and gives Missy the specified ""mashed bananas"" by mashing the fruit whole in its skin. (Missy loves it and eats it anyway.) In her usual manner, Amelia Bedelia wins over the returning parents with the strawberry tarts she decided to bake instead of taking a ""nap time."" But her response to ""Put Missy in her stroller and take her out for a while"" (Amelia takes her out of the stroller, not outdoors) is about the only reminder of Amelia Bedelia's old, endearing literal-mindedness.