There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

Bibliography:

Taback, Simms. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. New York: Viking, 1997. ISBN: 0670869392

Plot Summary: 

In this classic American folk poem, the tale begins with our protagonist, the old lady, swallowing a fly. Fearing for her life, she proceeds to swallow a spider to catch the fly, a bird to catch the spider, a cat to catch the bird, a dog to catch the cat, a cow to catch the dog, and finally (and fatally), a horse to catch the cow. As each rhyming refrain accumulates, the menagerie of animals adds its rhymed commentary until, in the end, the old lady is laid to rest in her grave beneath a starry sky displaying the humorous moral: “Never swallow a horse.”

Critical Analysis:

Although the text of this poem is quite familiar to many readers, Simms Taback embellishes the rhyming refrains with additional commentary from the animals who have yet to be swallowed (as well as those floating in the confetti-studded black space of her stomach). “I don’t know why she swallowed the fly. Perhaps she’ll die. [Bird:] But it’s only a fly. [Dog:] OH, my! [Cat:] She gulped it out of the sky. [Cow:] I think I’ll cry…”  The internal rhyme of the poem (“that wiggled and jiggled and tickled inside her”) bounces in hand-written black text against brightly-colored torn paper rectangles. The high-contrast, mixed media illustrations feature a collage of text and paper objects with lots for readers to discover: newspaper and magazine covers with headlines such as “Senior Swallows Cat!” and “Whole Cow Devoured,” onomatopoeic animal sounds like “tweet” and “squeek” and “arf arf,” city signage like “BROADWAY” and “RESTAURANT,” as well as labels showing dog food, gum wrappers, and various species of birds.
The formulaic structure of this familiar folk poem lends itself to Simms Taback’s playful use of die cut holes revealing the addition of each animal to the old lady’s stomach upon each page turn. On the right, each hole frames the animals already ingested, and after the page turn, the hole serves a second function on the left side, framing the new animal in the old lady’s ever-enlarging belly. Her black dress is covered with paper confetti that mirrors the black space in which the animals float. Readers will delight in the anticipation of getting a peek at the next page’s illustrations through the die cuts. (Taback dedicates his whimsical take on the poem to Peter Newell, creator of The Hole Book.) The old lady’s crazed facial expressions, frequently crossed eyes, patchwork shawl, hat, and umbrella match the zany, quirky quality of the poem. At the end of this silly tragedy (“She died, of course!”), Taback’s self-portrait appears in the corner of the page, joining in with the lament of the animals: “Even the artist is crying…” The predictable pattern of the text and the collage illustrations make this book a fun and visually engaging selection for a read aloud, perfect for audience participation.

Review Excerpts and Awards:

Caldecott Honor Book (1998)

“The text has the look of a ransom note (a touch the devoured creatures might appreciate), but the jaunty colors—set skipping by a judicious use of black—keep the dark side of the poem at bay.” -Kirkus Reviews

“The gleefully dizzy mood is intensified by Taback's use of black hand-lettered words set in blocks of bright colors laid atop orange or black backgrounds, and occasionally sprinkled with collage images (whose sources range from old field guides to the Wall Street Journal). Children of all ages will joyfully swallow this book whole.” -Publishers Weekly

Connections:

Collect other books by Simms Taback:
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat. ISBN: 9780670878550
I Miss You Every Day. ISBN: 0670061921

Introduce spin-off versions of the Old Lady poem and have students create their own variations following the pattern and rhyme scheme:
Colandro, Lucille and Jared D. Lee. There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow! ISBN: 0439567033
Colandro, Lucille and Jared D. Lee. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books! ISBN: 0545402875

Invite students to illustrate their poems with mixed media collage:
Merenstein, Shannon. Collage Workshop for Kids: Rip, snip, cut, and create with inspiration from The Eric Carle Museum. ISBN: 1631595202

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