There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly

by Rashin (Illustrator)

Overview

We all remember the old lady who swallowed a fly, a spider, a cat, a dog, a cow, and a horse. Now we know how she did it! Rashin’s colorful and comedic illustrations take you mid-gulp to mid-belly as the animals are swallowed whole. Her devoted cat tries to help: “Stop!” “Don’t eat it.” “Try this!” But when the old lady grabs the cat—it’s every beast for itself: “Eat the dog!” And when the old lady cheers: “Catch it!”—the critters leap into action to catch the one that was swallowed before.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780735841833
Publisher:	NorthSouth Books
Publication date:	09/01/2014
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD330L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Rashin was born in Iran and now lives in Washington, D.C. She is one of the most outstanding young Iranian illustrators working today. She has been awarded the Golden Apple of Bratislava and was selected for the 2013 Bologna Book Fair Illustrators Exhibit and a 2014 IBBY Honor. Among her many books are Two Parrots and There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly—her first books published in the United States.

Editorial Reviews

"What’s new here is, of course, the fabulously hilarious colorful facelift...[Rashin] takes something familiar and injects new life."-Smithsonian BookDragon Review

From the Publisher

10/01/2014
K-GR 2—Colorful, quirky illustrations combined with hilarious speech bubbles will make this new version of the traditional story/song appealing to children. The drawings show pandemonium outside and inside the old woman's stomach, and she looks positively eager to eat ever-larger animals in her quest to capture the fly buzzing in her stomach. When the cat, who has shouted out helpful encouragement and admonishments to the old woman at several stages, finds itself being swallowed, it shouts out "Eat the dog!" and readers can't help but laugh when comparing the expressions on the woman's face (calm, matter of fact), the cat's face (sheer terror), and the dog's face (complete bewilderment). This sort of over-the-top dark humor pervades the entire story. Like the traditional version, the old woman dies after she eats the horse, but all the animals in her stomach shout out, "No!" when they see what she is attempting. Midway through her final meal, her stomach explodes (only suggested at in the drawing), and the final pages show the animals marching off in high spirits while the old lady returns as a smiling angel. A spirited and funny read-aloud.—Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, Hillsborough, CA

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