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I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Have you ever swallowed a fly? I know an old lady who swallowed a fly. ... She swallowed a spider to catch the fly!
But that is only the beginning, for the old lady soon abandons herself to more extraordinary measures, with the hilarious result that each new cure begets an ailment more preposterous than the last.
Nadine Bernard Westcott's fresh, rollicking interpretation brings this favorite folk song to life, with its full-color illustrations brimming with silly good fun and marvelous antics sure to be enjoyed again and again.
But that is only the beginning, for the old lady soon abandons herself to more extraordinary measures, with the hilarious result that each new cure begets an ailment more preposterous than the last.
Nadine Bernard Westcott's fresh, rollicking interpretation brings this favorite folk song to life, with its full-color illustrations brimming with silly good fun and marvelous antics sure to be enjoyed again and again.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1980
About the author
Nadine Bernard Westcott
105 books17 followersNadine Bernard Westcott is the illustrator of many popular books for children, including Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash and Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash, as well as the author and illustator of The Lady With The Alligator Purse. She used to spend many hours chasing after her dog, who would come home only when ready and not a minute sooner. Ms. Westcott lives on Nantucket with her husband, Bill.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
July 5, 2024
Allegedly, if you swallow a horse, you will die...
January 9, 2015
I read the book "I know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" by Nadine Bernard Westcott. The book is about an old lady who at first swallows a fly. In the book you do not find out why she swallowed the fly. To get rid of the fly she swallows a spider. She continues to swallow other animals to get rid of the one she swallowed before. In the end she swallows a horse and she dies.
In the book there are a lot of characters that do not last very long. The main character of the book is the Old Lady. The Old Lady ends up swallowing all of the other characters. The other characters are a fly, a spider, a bird, a cat, a dog, a goat, a cow, and a horse. The Old Lady continues to get more and more fat from swallowing all the other characters until she dies.
The setting is at the Old Lady's house and around the outside of the house. The Old Lady swallows all of these characters during the day. She also dies during the day.
The theme of this book is cause and effect. It teaches that no matter what you do there will always be consequences. If you do one bad thing it will often lead to another. In the book she eats one bad thing and continues to eat bad things until she dies.
I rated this book four stars because it was a pretty clever and catchy book. I enjoyed the rhymes and how smooth it was to read. I would recommend this book to anyone five years old and older. Especially to older people who want to read a good book to young children.
In the book there are a lot of characters that do not last very long. The main character of the book is the Old Lady. The Old Lady ends up swallowing all of the other characters. The other characters are a fly, a spider, a bird, a cat, a dog, a goat, a cow, and a horse. The Old Lady continues to get more and more fat from swallowing all the other characters until she dies.
The setting is at the Old Lady's house and around the outside of the house. The Old Lady swallows all of these characters during the day. She also dies during the day.
The theme of this book is cause and effect. It teaches that no matter what you do there will always be consequences. If you do one bad thing it will often lead to another. In the book she eats one bad thing and continues to eat bad things until she dies.
I rated this book four stars because it was a pretty clever and catchy book. I enjoyed the rhymes and how smooth it was to read. I would recommend this book to anyone five years old and older. Especially to older people who want to read a good book to young children.
July 28, 2016
Time Machine
2.0 out of 5 stars Well I Guess There Is Always One In The Crowd..., May 23, 2005
Everyone else seems to adore this book so I guess I have lost my sense of humor because I just don't like this particular version-- at least not for the 3 and under set.
My first objection stems from the use of bug spray by the 'old lady' to get rid of the fly. She is shown sitting on a couch surrounded by cans of depleted insecticide while spraying more in her mouth. Rather than find this funny, it scared me to think that some child might get a notion to copy this activity.
Then second is my objection to boiling a cat and chasing a dog with the same intent. Now most children wouldn't do this so that's not a problem but I still don't like the idea of introducing this weird concept to my little boy. (My son asked me if we needed to keep our cat inside and safe from the neighbors - hmmm.)
The funny part of all of this is that I don't mind when the old lady just pops the animals down her throat. Go figure. In any case, Nadine Westcott is a good story teller and her artwork is clever, but I still have to give this book two stars because of the above reservations.
[A `Thought You Should Know' review]
2.0 out of 5 stars Well I Guess There Is Always One In The Crowd..., May 23, 2005
Everyone else seems to adore this book so I guess I have lost my sense of humor because I just don't like this particular version-- at least not for the 3 and under set.
My first objection stems from the use of bug spray by the 'old lady' to get rid of the fly. She is shown sitting on a couch surrounded by cans of depleted insecticide while spraying more in her mouth. Rather than find this funny, it scared me to think that some child might get a notion to copy this activity.
Then second is my objection to boiling a cat and chasing a dog with the same intent. Now most children wouldn't do this so that's not a problem but I still don't like the idea of introducing this weird concept to my little boy. (My son asked me if we needed to keep our cat inside and safe from the neighbors - hmmm.)
The funny part of all of this is that I don't mind when the old lady just pops the animals down her throat. Go figure. In any case, Nadine Westcott is a good story teller and her artwork is clever, but I still have to give this book two stars because of the above reservations.
[A `Thought You Should Know' review]
October 18, 2017
My daughter and I read this book before nap time today because her preschool teacher read the class a similar book.
This board book has awesome illustrations to go with the lyrics of the titular song. On the second page, along with the words "I don't know why she swallowed a fly, Perhaps she'll die" shows a lady sitting at her table eating some cookies surprised by a fly coming into her mouth. The last page has a ginormous lady lying on the ground outside picking at her teeth with a horseshoe. The corresponding lyrics on this page are altered to "She's full, of course!"
Every single one of my children has enjoyed this book, which takes perhaps five minutes to read.
As a board book, it is geared towards babies and toddlers, but I still break out the occasional board book. I have some that I love.
5 stars!
This board book has awesome illustrations to go with the lyrics of the titular song. On the second page, along with the words "I don't know why she swallowed a fly, Perhaps she'll die" shows a lady sitting at her table eating some cookies surprised by a fly coming into her mouth. The last page has a ginormous lady lying on the ground outside picking at her teeth with a horseshoe. The corresponding lyrics on this page are altered to "She's full, of course!"
Every single one of my children has enjoyed this book, which takes perhaps five minutes to read.
As a board book, it is geared towards babies and toddlers, but I still break out the occasional board book. I have some that I love.
5 stars!
July 7, 2016
Although an earworm burrows deep inside my head every time I read/sing this book to my daughter, I still find it fun. Who doesn't like this classic? Weird people, that's who!
July 27, 2019
I got it free at our library and now I know why. I was reading it to my son before bed time and 🤭🤢.
November 19, 2016
Wow, this old lady just about ate everything in sight! I am talking about of course the famous folklore tale, I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. This version adapted by multi-award winning author Mary Ann Hoberman and Nadine Bernard Westcott, will be sure to have your students laughing out loud and reading along with you. This is a great choice for a read aloud to any Pre K- 2nd grade class as it has a great rhythmic pattern, which will make it easy for your students to get into. Did I mention the illustrations that go along with it are hilarious!
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly tells the story of just that. An old lady swallows a fly and in fear that she'll die (hey I just made a rhyme!) starts eating other insects/animals to catch the previous ones inside of her. These insects/animals include a bird, a spider, what seems to be her pet cat and dog, a goat, and even a cow and a horse. Well what do you think happens at the end of this book after eating a handful of animals? Well she dies, of course!
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly can be used in the classroom in a few ways. The first is through shared reading. After doing a read aloud for your students, they can then participate with you in a shared reading. I think this book is a great choice for a shared reading experience for a few reasons. The first is the rhyming and repetitive text. Throughout the story there are many lines that repeat over and over such as "I know an old lay who swallowed a ....." and "She swallowed the ..... to catch the ....." This could be a great choice for early emergent and emergent readers as it is not too complicated. Another way this folklore could be used in the classroom is through more of a creative writing project. After reading this folklore, you could ask children if they believe this to be a real story (non-fiction or fiction). You could then as a class write a story (having each student write a sentence), similar to this one. You could then have the students replace the animals with other animals or foods and replace the old lady with another character (maybe their favorite character from another book or even you the teacher!). This project could help promote community (as the whole class will be working together as a group) and creativity (as they will be thinking of new ideas for a story).
Mary Ann Hoberman is a multi-award winning author whose books and poems can be found at
http://www.maryannhoberman.com/
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly tells the story of just that. An old lady swallows a fly and in fear that she'll die (hey I just made a rhyme!) starts eating other insects/animals to catch the previous ones inside of her. These insects/animals include a bird, a spider, what seems to be her pet cat and dog, a goat, and even a cow and a horse. Well what do you think happens at the end of this book after eating a handful of animals? Well she dies, of course!
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly can be used in the classroom in a few ways. The first is through shared reading. After doing a read aloud for your students, they can then participate with you in a shared reading. I think this book is a great choice for a shared reading experience for a few reasons. The first is the rhyming and repetitive text. Throughout the story there are many lines that repeat over and over such as "I know an old lay who swallowed a ....." and "She swallowed the ..... to catch the ....." This could be a great choice for early emergent and emergent readers as it is not too complicated. Another way this folklore could be used in the classroom is through more of a creative writing project. After reading this folklore, you could ask children if they believe this to be a real story (non-fiction or fiction). You could then as a class write a story (having each student write a sentence), similar to this one. You could then have the students replace the animals with other animals or foods and replace the old lady with another character (maybe their favorite character from another book or even you the teacher!). This project could help promote community (as the whole class will be working together as a group) and creativity (as they will be thinking of new ideas for a story).
Mary Ann Hoberman is a multi-award winning author whose books and poems can be found at
http://www.maryannhoberman.com/
March 23, 2022
Great book for little ones (and not so little). Nonsense at its best! Wonderful cadence to reading.
January 30, 2019
I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is a popular pattern children’s book about an old lady who swallows a fly, and then swallows a whole bunch of animals to catch the other animals she swallows. This book, written by Mary Ann Hoberman starts off with the old lady sitting at the table just eating cookies, and while she eats the cookies, she accidentally ends up swallowing a fly. Then the old lady swallows a spider to hopefully catch the fly, but now she can't get the spider or the fly. After she swallows the spider, she keeps swallowing animals to catch the one before, so then she swallows a bird, then a cat, then a dog, then a goat, then a cow, then a horse, and then she was full. Each time she swallows a new animal, it ends off with the phrase "I don't know why she swallowed the fly, perhaps she'll die." The story is further illustrated by the illustrations, drawn by Nadine Bernard Westcott. Her drawings correlate well with the words on each page of the story, depicting the old lady swallowing the animals and getting larger after swallowing each one. This would be a good book for children 4-6 years of age.
June 18, 2009
What a delightful book for young and old alike. My 6 year old and I already knew the song when we checked this charming little book out from the library but were delighted to find the sheet music and all 8 rounds on the endpapers. We sang ourselves into a silly frenzy. I might shouldn't have done that so near bedtime. He loves the part "Perhaps she'll die" that comes at the end of each round. I guess the death of a sweet old lady cracks kids up these days.
Did I mention the illustrations are fabulous? Very pretty indeed. I just love it when the illustrations are taken seriously. These are so wonderfully detailed and colorful. Sigh, I suppose I shall have to hunt down a copy of this one too or my son will have a fit about returning it to the library. He hates returning good books, but takes great delight in shoving the boring ones down the return shoot and crying out, "Good riddance to you sir!"
Did I mention the illustrations are fabulous? Very pretty indeed. I just love it when the illustrations are taken seriously. These are so wonderfully detailed and colorful. Sigh, I suppose I shall have to hunt down a copy of this one too or my son will have a fit about returning it to the library. He hates returning good books, but takes great delight in shoving the boring ones down the return shoot and crying out, "Good riddance to you sir!"
July 24, 2012
This story seems more like a "singing game" when you read it to the children. The author seemed to have quite a bit of fun with the words when she wrote it. The old woman in the story begins by swallowing one critter, and then, as she continues to add more and more, the children get a chance to practice their memory skills. There are also many rhymes throughout the story, which involves the children in the action, keeping their interest.
Extension:
The teacher and the class will sit in a large circle on a carpeted area. The teacher will read the story again. The children may take turns, around the circle, singing "their page," until they have reached the end of the book. Then they will stand up and say the last line of the book together. The teacher will ask the children how many of the creatures that they can remember, and to share with the class any new words that they have learned.
Extension:
The teacher and the class will sit in a large circle on a carpeted area. The teacher will read the story again. The children may take turns, around the circle, singing "their page," until they have reached the end of the book. Then they will stand up and say the last line of the book together. The teacher will ask the children how many of the creatures that they can remember, and to share with the class any new words that they have learned.
November 9, 2013
No matter how many times I read this to my daughter, I never get bored or tired of reading this book to her. I love the way the story rhymes and you can actually sing the whole book into a song. The book is filled with wonder vocabulary words. And the author writes this book in a sequence to swallowing things from small to the largest. The book also teaches children a cause and effect. Because the old lady swallowed all the things in the book, of course she is full and cannot eat no more.
Nadine Bernard Westcott is the award winning author and illustrator of more than one hundred children’s books, including the popular The Lady with the Alligator Purse. Now she has turned her signature style into a line of fabric. Infused with her brand of sophisticated whimsy, her designs reflect her passion for fun, friends and good living. Today Nadine and her husband Bill live on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, where she designs fabric in her home studio and enjoys life by the sea.
Nadine Bernard Westcott is the award winning author and illustrator of more than one hundred children’s books, including the popular The Lady with the Alligator Purse. Now she has turned her signature style into a line of fabric. Infused with her brand of sophisticated whimsy, her designs reflect her passion for fun, friends and good living. Today Nadine and her husband Bill live on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, where she designs fabric in her home studio and enjoys life by the sea.
February 10, 2020
The book's illustrations bring it to life and add some more humor to the story. There is a rhyme scheme throughout the book and keeps going through the steps of what happened before after the old lady swallows something else. The phrase "perhaps she'll die is repeated after she swallows something new, too, because what shes eating is inside her and is something that shouldn't be swallowed.Each time, the old lady swallows something bigger and bigger to try to catch the last thing she ate, like a goat to get the cat, and a cat to get the bird, and the bird to get the spider, and the spider "who wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her" to get the fly. The old lady keeps getting bigger and bigger and eventually swallows a horse and dies, which rings the line from the book all together as it foreshadowed the end. The illustrations in the book are humorous to look at to see the old lady chasing the next animal she'll eat and brings the story together.
November 22, 2011
I HATE THIS BOOK.....I WISH THIS BOOK WAS NOT IN EXISTENCE!!!! THE AUTHOR OBVIOUSLY HAS MAJOR ISSUES. WHOEVER WROTE THIS BOOK SHOULD BE PLACED IN A PEN WITH 1000 SCREAMING 2 YEAR OLDS. THAT IS HOW TERRIBLE THIS BOOK IS. CHILDREN DO NOT NEED TO HEAR ABOUT BAD DIETS, EATING DISORDERS OR DEATH...AND THIS OLD LADY SERIOUSLY HAD A DEATH WISH IN ORDER TO SWALLOW A SPIDER, CAT, DOG, GOAT, COW AND HORSE. DOES SHE NOT REALIZE THAT GOATS, COWS AND HORSES ARE HERBIVORES?? THEREFORE EVEN IF HER CRAZY THEORY DID WORK SHE WOULD HAVE AN EXTREMELY BAD CASE OF TAG IN HER ORGANS.
THIS BOOK MAKES ME WISH SOME PUBLISHERS WOULD ACTUALLY READ THE MATERIAL BEFORE PUTTING ANYTHING OUT ON OUR CHILDREN'S SHELVES THAT IS AS QUESTIONABLE AND SICKENING AS THIS BOOK IS. CAN I GET MY WASTED TIME BACK PLEASE?? ITS A GOOD THING THIS BOOK WAS GIVEN TO ME, OR I WOULD BE REALLY UPSET AND I WOULD WANT A REFUND.
THIS BOOK MAKES ME WISH SOME PUBLISHERS WOULD ACTUALLY READ THE MATERIAL BEFORE PUTTING ANYTHING OUT ON OUR CHILDREN'S SHELVES THAT IS AS QUESTIONABLE AND SICKENING AS THIS BOOK IS. CAN I GET MY WASTED TIME BACK PLEASE?? ITS A GOOD THING THIS BOOK WAS GIVEN TO ME, OR I WOULD BE REALLY UPSET AND I WOULD WANT A REFUND.
January 31, 2012
I know an old lady who swallowed a fly by Nadine Bernard Westcott was a silly book. I found that it had no real meaning behind it. This book was pure entertainment for the young kids. It was not one of my favorite books to read, because I could not relate to the book in any kind of way. On the other hand, this book started off with musical notes, so I immediately thought this was told through a song. The lyrics were also telling us about the story in a unique kind of way. This book definitely wasn't focusing on the texts, because you could look at the pictures and tell the story. There was quite a bit going on in the photo's that was a bit overwhelming at times. Towards the end of the story there was no text to describe the photo, we had to infer what the picture was all about. Personally this was not one of the books I enjoyed.
September 26, 2019
As a kid, I loved this story, but as an adult, the "adult" in me kicked in and thought how stupid this lady was. There's literally an illustration where she was spraying bug spray into her mouth and a bunch of bug spray bottles laying on the floor. Crazy! It's a strange book, but as a child I loved it and I'm sure children will enjoy this silly story too.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
Also, I found it morbid of how every time she swallows something it ended with "Perhaps she'll die" and then, in the end, she did die. What a weird book!
SPOILERS AHEAD:
Also, I found it morbid of how every time she swallows something it ended with "Perhaps she'll die" and then, in the end, she did die. What a weird book!
September 26, 2019
This is a fun book that tells the story of a lady who swallowed a fly. It includes a lot of rhyming and repetition that helps keep children engaged in the story. It also includes a sequence of events that lead the reader wondering what happens next. This offers a good opportunity to have the children guess what the old lady will eat next and keep the children interested and intrigued on what will happen.
October 1, 2019
The title grabs readers attention, makes you wanna know what else the lady will swallow and ro see how it comes out. Easy to follow along rhyming pattern. Great example of cause and effect makes it where you can ask the kids what do you think she will swallow next? or how do you think she will get all that stuff out her belly. I would change the ending because i feel like a children book should have an happily ever after.
September 27, 2021
"I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" is a story about an old lady who... well... swallowed a fly and a slew of other things. This book is great example to show students rhyming, sound patterns, and repetition. The story line is not very deep or purposeful but it is very easy to read. It shares a great message of do not eat bugs because it will lead to death by horse. Or just let the bug digest properly!
October 27, 2021
I think books like these are Classics for children and in the classroom. Books that rhyme and have a similar pattern throughout them are very good for kids to read so they can learn more about patterns and rhythms. The old lady who swallowed a fly who might have died and went on this whole Chase to kill the fly and then the book keeps going about things that the old lady has swallowed. Very cute book
September 30, 2016
This book was one of my favorites as a kid. I think that it would be at a reading level of second graders but may not be appropriate because the old lady dies at the end. This book, however, is in the library at my work with toddlers and they enjoy it being read to them. This would probably be a book I put in my classroom for the kids to read for fun, but I could see it being controversial.
May 1, 2023
If I was a huge fan of the story itself then I would give this book five-stars.
The illustrations are creative and they bring an additional level of humor to this old tale. There is so much detailing in each of the pictures, they definitely tell their own story, or at least enhance the traditional tale. The sheet music is also included in the front and back covers which is a great touch.
The illustrations are creative and they bring an additional level of humor to this old tale. There is so much detailing in each of the pictures, they definitely tell their own story, or at least enhance the traditional tale. The sheet music is also included in the front and back covers which is a great touch.
September 28, 2019
I think it's a really funny book that will get children all excited. It makes you wonder and ask how is it all possible. The pictures are fun and colorful. This book will definitely give you a good laugh. But the end is really unexpected, I wish the book had a different ending.
September 29, 2019
I don't think I have ever met a child who did not love this book. This is one of my favorites as well. I enjoy the silly plot of an old lady swallowing strange animals. This would be a great book to help teach children about sequencing and rhyming words.
June 26, 2018
Great illustrations
June 19, 2019
Great story for young readers to follow along with repetitive writing style. Conducive for reader participation. Easy story for young readers to follow.
June 20, 2019
Christianity
October 26, 2019
I remember this song from way back in elementary school and it's still one of my favorites. Now I get to share it with the kiddos I teach!
February 14, 2024
This has been a childhood rhyme that I knew growing up and thankfully it wasn't in the format of this book. Unfortunately this book has spawned a whole series in which this old lady just basically doesn't know when to stop being a Labrador retriever and that is maybe the ticket to the whole thing that she is one sick puppy who ends up at the vet's office to get her stomach checked since of her human disguise.
Like many other rhymes that came out at the same time for children, I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly works with a format that basically works off on adding to a given format then repeating each line as it helps to build up a story. As a result the story is easy for children to grasp since it is furthermore presented to the reader in very simple words that have a nice flow. Unlike its original format, though, this version takes away the much grimmer end that the old lady normally meets since of her gluttony.
Although I detest this particular rhyme I am going to be generous enough to give the book two stars since of the illustrations. These illustrations are more cartoonish than realistic but it most definitely the events occurring in the background that add to the story or the very clever drawn-up way of portraying some of the more darker aspects like the leash in a pot with hot dog relishes on the side.
Otherwise please shelf this book from me as I don't want to see anymore than I have to of this particular rhyme.
Like many other rhymes that came out at the same time for children, I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly works with a format that basically works off on adding to a given format then repeating each line as it helps to build up a story. As a result the story is easy for children to grasp since it is furthermore presented to the reader in very simple words that have a nice flow. Unlike its original format, though, this version takes away the much grimmer end that the old lady normally meets since of her gluttony.
Although I detest this particular rhyme I am going to be generous enough to give the book two stars since of the illustrations. These illustrations are more cartoonish than realistic but it most definitely the events occurring in the background that add to the story or the very clever drawn-up way of portraying some of the more darker aspects like the leash in a pot with hot dog relishes on the side.
Otherwise please shelf this book from me as I don't want to see anymore than I have to of this particular rhyme.
September 12, 2023
I read “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” retold and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott to review a pattern/predictable based picture book. I enjoyed reading it and it was very repetitive. As a future teacher, I would probably not have this book in my classroom library. It is an older book with older illustrations that I do not think a modern-day child would like or appreciate. However, I could see it being used to where each part of the class repeats a verse. For example, a group of 3 students says aloud “She swallowed the spider to catch the fly” every time that it is written on the page. This would help students keep their engagement with the plot of the book. I vaguely remember singing this book as a song in music class as a young student. Overall, I would say that there are better options out there for a pattern style picture book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews