THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY

 Taback, Simms. 1999. THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY. New York, NY. Scholastic. ISBN 0590632647

Plot Summary

This story is about an old lady who swallows a fly, spider, bird, cat, dog, a cow, and last a horse. The old lady's stomach grows each day as she swallows animals, each to catch the previously swallowed animal. In the end, when she swallows a horse, it causes her to die, of course.

Book Review

 "There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly" is a comical cumulative tale.  The storyline follows the lyrics of a song and is  better suited for younger students, but it’s the older ones that will get the weird humor.  It is based off the traditional catchy song about a woman who swallows a whole lot of different animals. It includes a spider that wiggled and giggled and tickled inside her, making the readers addicted to the words. It is great for teaching poems showing repetitive lines like; “Perhaps she’ll die.” It’s lures readers to engage in the all so popular upbeat song. The author helps the reader predict what will eventually happen, she dies, of course.

The author, Simms Taback uses detailed and entertaining pictures that show a crazy old lady eating large animals. As she eats, the author illustrates what’s inside her stomach. The illustrations are so animated and goofy it gives the impression that they are for a scrapbook. Half of the pages have black background color and the other half are a dark yellow making the artwork pops out to the reader. The words look like they been cut out of magazines and glued onto a ransom note. Allowing you time to study the busy pages is a must, so you do not miss any of the rib-tickling illustrations.

The moral of this tale is being careful what you eat, “Never swallow a horse". Heehee.

My students and I loved to see the old lady eat the animals and get bigger and bigger. The song was so catchy that we sang it for days. What a great classic book!

Review Excerpts

• Literary Awards
• Caldecott Honor (1998)
• New York Times Best Illustrated Book

Connections

It would be exciting to have students sing along to the song

“There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly,” here’s the link:

  http://bussongs.com/songs/there-was-an-old-lady-who-swallowed-a-fly.php


Love Spanish? Check this version out:

¡Un día una señora se tragó una mosca! by Lucille Colandro and illustrated by Jared D. Lee ISBN 0545795435



Another one of Simms Taback books that will have kids rhyming and laughing along the way is "This is The House That Jack Built" ISBN 0142402001