Nadine Bernard Westcott

There are flies in the sugarbowl, cats in the buttermilk, and pigs in the parlor. There are cows in the kitchen, roosters in the pantry, and sheep in the bathtub. What to do?

And what happens when the farm animals are dancing around the house and the farmer is about to return?

This charming retelling of the folk song “Skip to My Lou” is sure to be great fun for young readers. It’s delightfully silly and infectious . . . filled with chuckles for young readers and parents alike. The show more appealing illustrations in this picture book combined with the engaging rhyme make this a book destined to become a favorite.

Highly recommended. show less

"I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" is a classic song / nursery rhyme that many of us have grown up hearing. This book claims to offer a "fresh, rollicking interpretation" but varies only in a few words from the version I know. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as I enjoy the original (although if there were anything I would change, the constant refrain of "perhaps she'll die" is a bit morbid, especially for the youngest listeners). But buyer beware, if you're looking for something show more radically different from the lyrics you can easily find online, this book is not that. Of course, when this book was published in 1980, that wasn't really an option so I could see how this book was helpful at the time it was printed.

The cover flap also boasts of "full-color illustrations brimming with silly good fun and marvelous antics sure to be enjoyed again and again." While I usually enjoy illustrations with lots of little details, this book ventured into the land of "too much of a good thing." Every page was so busy that I felt like I didn't even know where to focus. I ended up missing some of the details - even after two read-throughs - because I was overwhelmed by it all. The illustration style is a sort of bigfoot cartoonish one, that seems fitting more for a humorous greeting card than for a full-length picture book. All in all, this book could be considered useful in illustrating a popular children's song but to achieve that effect, I preferred using a story-telling method such as this one: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/111464159501173898/ show less

Well I Guess There Is Always One In The Crowd...

Lots of other people seem 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 show more 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.

The Accelerated Reading designation for this book is 2.0. Perma-Bound gives the Interest Level as Preschool thru 3rd Grade.

Pam T
mom and reviewer for www.BooksForKids-reviews.com show less

I read the book I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly retold and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott and I loved it. One reason why I enjoyed this book is because of the language. The language of this book has a pattern of repeating and rhyming each animal the old lady eats after every page. For example, the first page starts off by “I know an old lady who swallowed a fly, I don’t know why she swallowed a fly, perhaps she’ll die.” The story then continues naming each animal the show more old lady ate including the very first animal, the fly. I also enjoyed this book because of the writing. The writing of this book was very engaging and kept the reader entertained. It kept the reader on their toes because they did not know what animal the old lady was going to eat that was going to make her die until the last page. The last page stated that the horse was the animal who made her die. The main idea of this book is that it is supposed to be a fun book that teaches children rhyming words, patterns, and the concept of cause and effect. show less