ATeacher’sGuidetotheAmeliaRules!series ByJimmyGownley

Writing Prompts for the Series as a Whole Amelia and her friends are a part of G.A.S.P.: Gathering of Awesome Super Pals. As members of this secretclub created by Reggie, each character has a secret identity and accompanying nickname: Reggie is “CaptainAmazing,” Amelia is “Princess Powerful,” Pajamaman is “Kid Lightning,” and Rhonda is “Ms. Miraculous.” Ifyou were a member of G.A.S.P., what would your nickname be? What would your costume look like? Pajamaman is the “weird kid” in Amelia’s group of friends. In every story that includes Pajamaman, he iswearing “mood jammies,” or pajamas that have an emoticon or symbol on his top that expresses how he isfeeling during any given moment. Would you like it if your emotions were always visible to everyone aroundyou? How would this change how you interact with people? If you were wearing “mood jammies” right now,what emoticon or image would be present on your shirt? Amelia’s Aunt Tanner plays a pivotal role in Amelia’s life, as her aunt, stand-in big sister, mentor, andfriend. Do you have someone in your life who you go to for advice? How has this person helped you deal witha situation? Although they do not always see eye-to-eye, Amelia, Reggie, Pajamaman, and Rhonda are all very loyalfriends to one another. How do you define friendship? Do friends always have to get along? How doAmelia and the others act as good or bad friends throughout the series? How do they show their loyalty toone another? Throughout the series Reggie uses made up “scientific” words and explanations to explain everyday things,like the secret origin of a superhero, the “common artist,” a latchkey kid, and the act of “hanging out.” Chooseone word or concept from the following list to define using Reggie’s style. Be sure and give your concept a“scientific” name and detailed description. Illustrate your definition with accompanying figures. Recess Best friend Comic book Substitute teacher Dodgeball Summer vacation Road trip Detention

Discussion Questions for Each VolumeAMELIA RULES, VOLUME 1:THE WHOLE WORLD’S CRAZYAMELIA RULES, VOLUME 2:WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY Starting over is tough. Amelia’s parents haverecently gotten a divorce and she and her mom havemoved from New York City to a small town inPennsylvania. Have you ever had to move to a newtown and start over? How did it feel? How did you dealwith the situation? On Valentine’s Day, Amelia and Rhonda are bothwriting love poems for Reggie, but Reggie is writing alove poem for Tanner. Have you ever written a lovepoem for someone? Were your feelings reciprocated? In the first few pages of Volume 1 we meet Reggieand Pajamaman. Reggie talks a lot, but Pajamamanonly uses gestures, written notes, and emoticons onhis pajama top to express himself. If you could nottalk, how would you express yourself? Do you think itwould be difficult to go one day without speaking?How about one week? One month? Amelia hears her parents fighting over the phone.Have you ever heard your parents fight? How did thismake you feel? Amelia’s dad promises her he’ll come visit forHalloween but ends up having to cancel the trip dueto a conflict with work. As a result, Amelia feels upsetand disappointed. Have your parents ever made apromise they didn’t keep? How did this make you feel? Amelia and Rhonda are always fighting with eachother, and the night of the Halloween party they getinto another war of words. Amelia makes fun ofRhonda’s costume, and Rhonda responds with amean comment about Amelia’s absentee father,causing Amelia to storm off to her room. Aunt Tannersteps in to help make peace between the girls bytelling Amelia “Life is going to provide you withenough problems without you trying to make enemiesout of your friends.” What does this mean? How doesit apply to Amelia and Rhonda? We find out in Volume 2 that Amelia’s Aunt Tannerhas a secret past as a rock star. No one knows whyshe quit the music business, but we get a feeling thatit wasn’t everything Tanner hoped it would be whenshe tells Amelia that “Wanting something is alwaysbetter than having it.” What do you think Tannermeans by this? Do you agree with her? After Amelia finds out about Tanner’s past as a rockstar, her mom tells her she was a big fan and that shekept a lot of memorabilia from Tanner’s rise to fameand subsequent musical career in the attic. Withoutpermission, Amelia digs this stuff out of the attic andfinds an old cassette tape with one of Tanner’s neverrecorded songs on it, which she shares with herfriends at school without permission. Do you think itwas okay for Amelia to go digging through the attic tofind this stuff? Was it okay for her to share what shefound without Tanner’s permission? Amelia and her friends return to New York City tospend time with her dad and best friend SundayJones. When it’s time to leave, Amelia is very sad to beleaving someone behind and therefore missingsomeone again. Have you ever had to leave a friendbehind? How did this make you feel? Amelia branches out in Volume 2 and makes somenew friends. It just so happens that these new friendsare actually Reggie’s arch nemeses, the ninjas! ShouldAmelia tell Reggie about her new friends? Is she beingto disloyal to her fellow members of G.A.S.P. bybefriending the ninjas?

AMELIA RULES, VOLUME 3:SUPERHEROESAMELIA RULES, VOLUME 4:WHEN THE PAST IS A PRESENT In the beginning of Volume 3, Amelia finds out thatshe and her mom are moving out of Aunt Tanner’shouse and into a house of their own. Even though thehouse is only across town, Amelia will have to startschool in a new district. To keep Amelia from havingto move, Tanner agrees to take the new house and letAmelia and her mom stay in her house. Has anybodyever done anything nice like that for you? Why do youthink Tanner agreed to move to the new house soAmelia could stay in the first house? On the night before the first day of school, Amelia isplanning to watch a movie with her mom and AuntTanner. They did this the year before and so Ameliathought it was the beginning of a tradition. Do youhave any traditions in your family? If yes, what do youdo and when? If no, what kind of traditions would youlike to start in your family? Right before we find out that Tanner has agreed totake the new house and let Amelia and her mom stayin the old house, Amelia prepares to say good-bye. Asa part of her good-bye we see a flash-forward of her lifewhere we get to see her a few months in the future,then two years later, then her life in high schoolfollowed by her sweet 16 and life after high school.Can you envision your future self? Where will you beone year from now? What will you be doing in highschool? Where do you see yourself after high school? The Intergalactic Ninja is Reggie’s hero. Aunt Tanneris Amelia’s hero. Do you have any heroes?Do personal heroes have to be real or can they beimaginary? Joanne’s magazine, the “Tweenie Zeenie,” includesstories, pictures, a gossip column, interviews, a sportsreport, etc. If you started a ’zine, what would youinclude in it? Who would you recruit to help write andillustrate it? How would you distribute it? Would youcharge money for it? At the end of Volume 3, we find out that Amelia’sfriend Trish is sick and moving to California for anoperation. When she says good-bye, Amelia givesTrish her “magical” locket with a special picture ofTrish’s magical character Princess Trishara. If youhad a friend who was leaving, what would you givehim or her as a good-bye present? In the beginning of Volume 4, Amelia’s mom has adate for the first time after the divorce. When the datearrives to pick her up, he refers to her as “Mary.” Thismakes Amelia realize that her mom is more than justa mom, or a sister, or a wife. Sometimes it can bedifficult to think of our parents as real people and notjust as our moms and dads. Do you remember a timewhen you realized that your parents were more thanjust your parents? Do they act differently around theirfriends? How about in front of your aunts and unclesor grandparents? In a flashback scene, we see a younger Amelia inNew York City with her best friend Sunday Jones.When she tells Sunday that her parents are getting adivorce and she and her mom are moving, Sundaysuggests they run away. What do you think about thisidea? Do you understand her urge to run away? Inyour opinion, is this a smart solution to the problem? We find out toward the end of Volume 4 that Joan’sdad is being deployed overseas to fight in a war. Doyou know anyone who has been sent overseas formilitary duty? How would you feel if one of yourparents had to leave for a year for their job? Howwould you stay in touch with them throughoutthe year? At the end of Volume 4, Amelia realizes that sheknows very little about the history of her family. Whatdo you know about your family history? Do youknow how your parents met? What about yourgrandparents? Does your family have any heirlooms,or objects passed down from generation to generation,like the locket Amelia receives from her great-auntSarah?

THESERIES BY JIMMY GOWNLEYAges 7-12 Grades 2-7“Unwraps a kid’s-eye view of life honestly, poignantly, and with a heftydollop of melodrama.” —Booklist“A character to rival Ramona.”—School Library JournalVolume 1: TheWhole World's CrazyVolume 2: WhatMakes You HappyVolume 3:SuperheroesISBN 9781416986041ISBN 9781416986058ISBN 9781416986065A Very NinjaChristmasVolume 4: When thePast Is a PresentISBN 9781416986072Volume 5: TheTweenage Guide toNot Being UnpopularISBN 9781416989592ISBN 9781416986102 (HC)ISBN 9781416986089 (PB)SIMON & SC HUSTER CHI LDREN’S PUBLISHINGAT HENEUM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS1 2 3 0 A v e n u e o f t h e A m e r i c a s , N e w Y o r k , N Y 1 0 02 0T E AC H. S i mon a n d Sc h u s t er . n et A me l i a R u l es . c omThis reading group guide has been provided by Simon & Schuster for classroom, library, and reading group use. It may be reproduced in its entirety or excerpted for these purposes.Illustrations 2010 by Jimmy GownleyGuide ISBN 9781442405325 (packs of 10)

Sick friend (Volume 3) Truth or Dare game (Volume 3) Embarrassing a friend (Volume 3) Accident/hospital stay (Volume 3) Saying good-bye to a friend (Volume 3) Sick friend/friend in hospital (Volume 3) Divorced parent going on a date (Volume 4) First day