There Was An Old Lady

There Was an Old Lady Who Gobbled a Skink
by Tamera Will Wissinger
illustrated by Ana Bermejo
Sky Pony Press, 2016
review copy provided by the author

I absolutely loved Tamera Will Wissinger's verse novel, Gone Fishing (my review here), so I was looking forward to what she would do with the traditional cumulative tale of the old woman who swallowed. I have a collection of these books, and I'm always on the lookout for a new version to add to my collection. (Lookie there -- we even have a blog label for "old lady who swallowed" books!)

Wissinger's newest is another fishing-themed book, with the old lady swallowing items in reverse order -- a worm to catch the skink, a bobber to catch the worm, fishing line to catch the bobber. What a fun twist!

But the very best part is the punchline at the end. I'll give you a hint. Just before the last item she swallows, she swallows her boat. Can you think of what she would swallow, following the reverse order pattern, to catch a boat? It's what sank her!! (Is that the most perfect rhyme ever [assuming you know what the item was]?!?!)

And Yet Another Song Book

As you know if you read my blog posts, I love new songbooks. I think they are quite fun and I also know how important they are for early literacy development. When I heard about THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED SOME BUGS by Johnette Downing, I ordered it immediately. I love all of the different versions of this story/song. And this one is a bit unique. The story follows the typical "There was an old lady" format and in this version, the old lady eats a variety of bugs including a mosquito, a worm, a slug and a roach. UGH! The illustrations are unique in that you don't see the entire Old Lady getting bigger and bigger. Instead, each page focuses on the tongue and the stomach--close ups of the "old lady" eating each bug and them gathering in her tummy. But this one has a fun surprise ending that I think kids will love.

The text of this one is a bit tricky in that some pages contain a lot of text and some of the bug names might be unknown to young kids but I think this book will be enjoyed by kids of all ages--a fun version of a well-loved song!

I Know an old Lady

I know an old lady who swallowed a fly, along with any number of other things. I have known this old lady since the early 1960's. I still have my 50 cent "Scholastic Book Services" book club copy of this classic.

I have a small collection of "old lady who swallowed" books and I use them to teach a unit on parody (along with Goodnight Goon and Goodnight Moon).

They include:

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat,

There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow, and

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell (all by Lucille Colandro and illustrated by Jared Lee. ...Looks like I need There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bell and, new in 2009, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick to complete the Colandro segment of my collection!)

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout (by Teri Sloat and illustrated by Reynolds Ruffins -- a Northwest coast/Indian-themed version shared by a fellow Old Lady Book collector who used to live in Washington)

I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello (by Barbara S. Garriel and illustrated by John O'Brien -- did I share this with the music teacher, or did he share it with me? I don't remember, but it matters not -- we both love it!)

I Know an Old Teacher (by Anne Bowen and illustrated by Stephen Gammell -- new last fall. I reviewed it here, with some other back-to-school books.)

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed FLY GUY (by Tedd Arnold -- my 4th graders love finding the folk tale embedded in a FLY GUY book -- a series they read when they "were little."

One I don't own (yet), but found at the library -- I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie (by Alison Jackson and illustrated by Judith Byron Schachner -- a fun Thanksgiving-themed version with a surprise ending that's just PERFECT!)

And now (drumroll.....) the newest in my collection...

There Was an Old Monster

by Rebecca, Adrian & Ed Emberley

Orchard Books (Scholastic), 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

This one doesn't just break the mold, it swallows it!

It is bright and bold and delightfully icky -- the monster begins by swallowing a TICK! A larger than life bright purple but horribly life-like TICK! Ick! The tick is followed by ants, a lizard, a bat, a jackal and more. Eww!

This book is an Emberley family labor of love. The unique take on the story was written by Rebecca Emberley, the fabulous illustrations were made by Rebecca's father Ed Emberley, and the daughter of Rebecca and granddaughter of Ed, Adrian Emberley (a performing songwriter according to the back flap), joined the fun with with a recording of the story at the Scholastic website. Go listen. I'll wait until you come back.

Wasn't that fun?! Can you not wait to share this with your students?!? Will they not be inspired to write new versions of this often-parodied story? Will they not want to make pictures in the Emberley style?!?! (Buy reams of bright-bright paper now, so you can be ready!!) Will they not want to make podcasts of ALL of the versions for Swallow Fest?!?!?!

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scratch,

scritch,

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