There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

Madcap Caldecott Honor version of a classic poem.

Author: Simms Taback Illustrator: Simms Taback Pages: 32 Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc. Published Date: 09/01/1997 Genre: Fiction - Picture Book PB Price: $6.99 Publisher's Recommended Reading Level: Ages 4-8 Read Aloud: 4+ Read Alone: 6+

Common Sense Note

There's little story in this traditional poem, but it's wildly silly, and readers have an open invitation to rhyme along. Taback's artwork, for all its goofiness, is mesmerizing.

Rate It!

Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Peter Lewis

Taback adds visual fuel to a folk poem already brimming with hilarity. While the poem stands on its own as a celebration of rhyme and tomfoolery, Taback captures all the action in boldly colored cartoon illustrations that cover the page. Short rhymed comments from the animals about to be eaten are added as asides.

The cut-out pages do a great job in focusing the reader's attention and carrying the poem from page to page. Taback also provides a rogue's gallery of flies inside the back cover, a nicely weird finishing touch.

THERE WAS AN OLD LADY ... appeals to a wide range of ages, though one four-year-old responded to the book as "creepy," perhaps because the old lady's eyes rotate wildly and independently in their sockets. Older readers will probably be content with one read-through, though the younger audience will demand repeat performances. No problem--with this degree of busyness and action, the book never stales.

Taback won the Caldecott Medal in 2000 for his Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. A similar sense of humor and bizarre art grace John Scieszka's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales.

From The Book

She swallowed the cow to catch the dog. She swallowed the dog to catch the cat. She swallowed the cat to catch the bird. She swallowed the bird to catch the spider. She swallowed the spider to catch the fly. I don't know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she'll die.

Plot Summary:

A madcap, Caldecott Honor-winning version of a classic folk poem. It features a superb die-cut page design, a crowd of verbal and visual details, and an old lady's belly that bloats and bloats as each new and progressively bigger creature goes down the hatch. Simms Taback's bizarre artwork is drenched in color.

Rate It!