There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback (All Ages)

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback (All Ages)

Taback, Simms. (1997). There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. New York: Scholastic Inc.

Genre: Fiction, Folk Poem

Lexile: Easy

This book is a folktale/ poem about an old lady who swallows a fly and the narrator of the book wonders if she’ll die. She does not then she swallows a spider, again wondering if she will die, she does not. This continues on for the remainder of the book. As the book goes on the picture of the lady gets larger and larger. The book is interactive because it has a cutout of what is in her stomach as well as the accumulating creatures that are eventually in her stomach. The pages are extremely colorful and full of little side remarks.

Folktales: This book embodies a folktale because it:

Has characters who are not well described but are making a statement or trying to make meaning of the folk.

There is a message portrayed in the end of the book.

The illustrations help to make meaning of the story.

The ending of the story is unhappy because the old lady dies.

There is conflict in the plot.

Supernatural force is the fact that the old lady is swallowing these creatures.

Repetition is used in this book; the pages follow the same type of order and meaning, changing what the lady swallowed as well as the side comments made by other characters.

For the development of language in younger readers this book provides a stimulating storyline with a lot of repetition allowing students to contain clear, familiar actions and encourages them to predict actions of the future.

Illustrations- The book is illustrated in a colorful way. The book has a hole in the old ladies stomach to show what she has swallowed and as she continues to eat her stomach continues to grow.

Mini Lesson- This book can be used in a folktale curriculum and give students an opportunity to see a type of book that is interactive. This could also lead to the students making there own books similar to this one.

Enjoyment- The students who would enjoy this book could be all ages. Readability is around second or third grade, but a great read aloud!