- in Children's
- review by Julia Rothman
- on November 20, 2009
- comments by 16 readers
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There was an old lady who swallowed a fly
This new take on the classic rhyme is dark and creepy just like it should be. The book, designed and illustrated by Jeremy Holmes, has a very clever format. The whole book is the old lady, fitting into the long rectangle nicely. Her mid-section, where her stomach exists, is the book part. So when flipping the pages you feel like you are looking inside her stomach to see what’s she’s eaten: a fly explorer, a nerdy spider, and so on and so forth. Jeremy’s digital character illustrations have so much personality. The last page is a big surprise: “There was an old lady who swallowed a horse. She died, of course.” The old lady’s eyes close as you turn the page. I can just imagine the squeals from kids as they flip this page and she her eyelids shut. Get a copy of this book here
Laura Di Francesco wrote
SIMPLY AMAZING…
November 20, 2009 3:50pmAntje Herzog wrote
WOW. Very smart!
November 20, 2009 4:32pmMallory wrote
there are so many completely lovely versions of this song out in book form, although this one does indeed seem to be the grandest & most impressive.
November 20, 2009 6:00pmrachel wrote
Wow! I love the part about the eyes closing.
November 20, 2009 7:13pmnicole lecht wrote
love that! zoe is definitely getting this one!
November 21, 2009 7:53amJanet wrote
Genius!
November 21, 2009 3:36pmlaura@popdesign wrote
very clever and nicely done!
November 22, 2009 3:49amJacki Lewis wrote
I saw this at the store recently and was just stunned. It really is beautifully done.
November 23, 2009 5:09pmdora wrote
Great news, thanks !
November 30, 2009 10:42pmI’ve just ordered it.
xxx
dora wrote
xxx
November 30, 2009 10:43pmbabelfish wrote
love the clever style and illustration.
December 12, 2009 8:34amJohn wrote
lovely work, you never see these in the shops! Thanks for sharing.
January 5, 2010 8:03amCristina wrote
Very very nice!
January 17, 2010 5:11aminspirationbit wrote
I bought this book for my daughter, we both loved it, but on the very first day of reading the book a dozen times, the eyes stopped working. One eye is now completely closed, only one eye is opening and closing.
My daughter got very upset, but I suggested to start calling the lady The One-Eye Old Lady, she laughed and that’s how we call her now.
It’s very sad that such a gorgeous book has been printed cheaply in China.
April 8, 2010 9:07amAny Bell wrote
who is the author who wrote “There was an old woman or lady who swalloed a fly” i read it to m 5 year old daughter and it said auother remained “UNKNOWN” so i was just wandering if i could find him/ her on a website so i could know who wrote the book and that’s all im asking for
March 14, 2011 10:13amSimon wrote
@Aby Bell – it’s a traditional story and song, so we don’t know who first told it.
Another version of the tale I love is the one by Simms Taback:
http://simonsterg.wordpress.com/2008/03/18/try-to-keep-a-sense-of-proportion/
February 17, 2012 2:03pm