Age 3-6, preschool-1st grade

Independent Reading Level: K-2
Awards: Randolph Caldecott Medal (1998)
ALSC Notable Children's Books (1998)
Best Illustrated Children’s Books (1997)

Independent Reading Level: PreK-2
Awards/Honors: None

Independent Reading level: Grades 1-3.

In 1998 this book won the ALA Notable Children’s book award.

IRL: K-1st grade

Independent Reading Level: K-2
Awards: Randolph Caldecott Medal (1998)
ALSC Notable Children's Books (1998)
Best Illustrated Children’s Books (1997)

We all know how this one ends, but that won't stop me from reading it again and again! ( )

Some liberties are taken with the song, but the illustrations are fun. We will see what the nephew thinks. ( )

So funny to kids. even went along with a song

There Was an Old Lady is a classic tale-like story! This old lady seems to be able to swallow anything! But why? Scholastic Book Wizard has identified this story as a Pre K-2 level story. This book is especially appropriate to use in preschool, because at around age 4, children are beginning to understand the enjoyment of rhyme and alliteration. This book is loaded with rhymes, so they will be giggling away and recognizing the rhyme that is associated with it. This story could be turned into a song with music added, elevating its rhyme and enjoyment even more. In addition, the students and I could create our own, "There Was an Old Lady" story that teaches/reviews rhyme, rhythm, and alliteration in story telling. This book would also be so much fun to teach alongside poetry, as it gives children a fun beginning on how rhyming and rhythm work together to create an enjoyable story. Overall, this classic is a 5/5 that students always seem to love. ( )

This is one of my favorite books to read to kids of different ages, but the younger kids are the ones who have a greater and more fun time. I think the book; “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly” is a great way to teach students error and trial methods, sequencing, and rhyming. The book describes the old lady swallowing different animals in order to catch the fly she first swallowed at the beginning of the story. After swallowing the fly, she decides to swallow other animals in order to catch the fly. The book is silly and funny, but it is a great read-aloud and engages students in shared reading since this book is predictable. I will most likely have this book in my future classroom library! ( )

The ingestion of a fly leads an old lady to swallow larger and larger animals, ending with a cow, which leads to a powerful cough.

The old lady started off by eating a fly, but then continued to eat other things to catch the previous animal or insect. This book is a book that follows a sequence, rhymes and is repetitive. I would read this book to Pre-k to 2nd grade. I would use this book to teach my kids about repetition, cause and effect and introduce sequencing. ( )

The old lady who swallowed a fly, followed by a spider and a bird and many other creatures and items.. This book uses a die cut hole to show the inside of the old lady's stomach to give a different view of this well loved poem.

An add on book. This book is a good one to use for retelling because their was a lot of repetition ( )

books gets the imagination going to the children ( )

Great book to share if you want students to laugh. The little old lady starts with swallowing a fly, then many other things. She swallows a cow, a hog, a dog, a cat, a spider, and a bird. She keeps swallowing other things in order to catch what she swallowed before. She had a plan the whole time. By swallowing all these different things she coughed so hard they all came out including the fly that she swallowed first, but we still don't know why she swallowed the fly. Funny book that will keep you wondering what the old lady will swallow next. ( )

In this silly story there is an old lady who is quite odd. In this rhyming story book you learn all about her strange qualities, as she swallows all kinds of things in order to catch the fly that she swallowed. ( )

The book has great illustrations and appropriate vocabulary, for beginning readers. The book is repetitive, which is beneficial for children becoming familiar with vocabulary.

I really enjoyed this story for many reasons. First of all the plot line of the story and the story itself is a classic and is timeless for children of all ages. The story is funny and comedic and very entertaining. Due to the extreme fictional elements of the story, children love it because it is something that they could not even have imagined. In my four-year old classroom it is an absolute favorite. Another reason why I like this story is the illustrations. The illustrator uses a fuzzy type of drawing style that is interesting to look at. In addition, the illustrator drew the characters is a very dramatic, funny way that kids love to look at. The illustrations also move to story along really well and are a very important element to the story. The character’s expressions are also spot on and hilarious. The last reason why I enjoyed this story was that this book is a classic and many children are familiar with the words and how the story progresses so as a teacher you are able to use a shared reading technique when doing a read aloud. The main idea of this story is do not swallow a fly or it will make it swallow all other different types of animals. On a more serious note the main idea could be educating students are the reproductive system, life cycle, and the food chain. ( )

2014 editon

Independent Reading Level: Grades: 1-3

Independent Reading Level: Grades k-2
Awards: Notable Children's Books 1998