There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly

 

1. Bibliography

Taback, S. 2001. There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. Viking. ISBN: 0670869392

2. Plot Summary

This classic story begins with an old lady who swallows a fly. With each page turn, the old lady begins to swallow more animals, each one getting bigger with the purpose of getting rid of the animal before it. The woman’s adventure comes to an end when she swallows a horse and dies. The story ends with the cautionary moral to never swallow a horse.

3. Critical Analysis

Without even reading the story, I could see kids being interested in the story based from the picture of colorful bugs and flowers to grab their attention right from the start. The illustrations are entertaining as the old lady swallows each animal and you see it in her stomach. The story itself is very dark but you don’t get the sense of it by how it is written. Though the ending doesn’t end well for the old lady, you find yourself laughing, especially when story ends with the moral to not swallow a horse. 

4. Review Excerpts

Caldecott Medal Nominee 1998

Kirkus- “Fortunately, these additions can be easily ignored or inflated according to taste, and full concentration given to the poem itself and the wild, eye-catching artwork: It is good fun to watch the old lady bulge and bloat, and the sheer corniness of the verse continues to be deeply gratifying.”

School Library Journal- “From cover to moral (never swallow a horse), this cleverly illustrated version of an old folk favorite will delight children. Each page is full of details and humorous asides, from the names of different types of birds, to a recipe for spider soup, to the rhyming asides from the spectating animals. As for the old lady, with her toothy grin and round bloodshot eyes, she looks wacky enough to go so far as to swallow a horse.”

5. Connections

Have the students create their own sequence with different animals or items that the old lady could swallow.

Retell the events by gluing the events down in order and create captions.

Watch a live action read aloud of the story that has been turned into a song. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMwO45a7Y6A