"Old Lady" Gets the Honor that she Deserves



There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Written By Simms Taback
Illustrated by Pam Adams
ISBN #0859537277

     For our first "official" blog, my professor instructed us to write on any "Award [meaning Caldecott or Newbery Medals/Honors] Winning Children's Book."  At first I thought, "Oh, ok no big deal. All the books I love have won awards, so I can basically write about anything I want, right?" WRONG!  When I downloaded a list of all the books that have been chosen for these honors, I couldn't help but notice that some of my favs were MIA.  Of course the lovable Winn Dixie made the cut, as did Trixie and her beloved Knuffle Bunny (twice, in '05 and '08).  But I couldn't help but wonder why some of my favorite characters fell through the cracks!  Where-oh-where is my little Chrysanthemum?  And what about my favorite spunky gal, Pinkalicious?  Tsk, tsk to whatever committee left you ladies out.  Anyway, I was very pleased, however, to find that a very silly, and hungry old lady did, in fact make the cut.
     I truly feel that Simms Taback's There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly (which was a Caldecott Honor winner in 1998) is one of the best children's books ever written.  The book follows the story of a little old lady who swallows a fly, and then proceeds to swallow a spider in order to catch the fly.  She continues to swallow bigger animals to catch the one before it.  Each page follows the same rhyming pattern.  For example, one part reads: There was an old lady who swallowed a bird.  How absurd to swallow a bird!  She swallowed the bird to catch the spider.  She swallowed the spider to catch the fly - I don't know why she swallowed a fly!  Perhaps she'll die!
     I mean c'mon... what can't you teach with this book?  There's the obvious rhyming and patterns.  The kids absolutely love to follow along with this book.  When I read it, I always have my audience join in and help me read each page.  The pictures are helpful to those who cannot follow along with the words; those kids can still feel a part of the group.  That brings me to another great lesson, using pictures to help you figure out words!  This book can certainly be used to teach main idea (what is the whole book about?), facts and details (why is she swallowing each animal?), and word meaning (notice the sentence after it names what she swallowed;  there is always a fancy word in it).
     In my opinion, however, this book is best utilized with a sequencing lesson.  After the read aloud, I usually give my kids a picture of each animal she swallowed.  Then, they write out a paragraph in their notebooks listing each thing she swallowed in order, and placing the picture where appropriate.  They can use any of the sequencing words from the mini-lesson that make sense to them.  Here is an example of this activity, done by a 2nd grader with the book There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat.

     Now even if I stopped here, I'm sure you would agree that I proved my point; There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is a great book to have in your classroom.  But guess what?  I'm STILL not done.  The best thing about this book is... there's more.  Literally.  There are more books that follow the same exact format.  Lucille Colandro has written an "Old Lady" book for just about every holiday and season.  Halloween is right around the corner; why not try There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat?  Thanksgiving already?  There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie (although this one is by Alison Jackson) would be a great read.  You can actually buy the whole set, in which the old lady swallows a shell (for summer time), some leaves (autumn), a chick (Easter/springtime), snow (winter), and a bell (Christmas).  I know what you're thinking now... this could be a killer compare/contrast lesson, right?  Not to mention how many connections can be made, too.
     The Caldecott Honor is awarded to the illustrator of a distinguished American picture book for children.  Simms Taback served as both author and illustrator to this classic.  Although I have praised this book for its story and how it can be incorporated into the classroom, I have neglected to point out why Taback received the Caldecott Honor.  His pictures are bold and bright, and surely catch the eye of children and adults alike.  They make following along with the words easy and enjoyable.  As I said already, pictures are very important to those youngsters who cannot read yet.
    I hope that I have been able to give this piece of literature it's proper due.  It is definitely a book every teacher should have in her classroom, and every parent should have on his bookshelf.  I would love to hear from anyone who falls in love with this book as I did!