Member Reviews
*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Know this story very well but really like the art in this edition of the book!
Cute spin on an old favorite of my kids. Great illustrations that kept the kids entertained. Would definitely recommend!
A great version of 'i know an old lady who swallowed a fly' with no mention of death or dying which can only be a winner!
My 4 year enjoyed this story, and it made her laugh imagining how big her tummy was getting!
The illustrations were great too and she enjoyed looking for the animals.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing Happy Fox Books for my copy of I Know an Old Lady by Edward Miller. It publishes January 5, 2021.
I had the help of two 8 year olds and a 6 year old for the reading and reviewing of this book. I think the edit of the classic song/story "I Know an Old Lady" is an appropriate one. Changing the "Perhaps she'll die" and "She's dead of course" is a good move to take this little story from something morbid to something silly. I know the kids I read this to appreciated it!
I think this would make a great gift!
I'm not a child but that cute book cover got my attention.
The book is for young children with a strange old lady eating animals. The first 3 make sense the rest is probably up to your imagination.
I thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful new edition of “I Know an Old Lady”, which had an updated positive twist at the end (compared to the original composition). As I was reading this to a 2 yr old and 4 yr old, they were laughing and thought it quite humorous. The art work is simple - not complicated. At the end of the story, they clapped and said: “Read it again”!
Ok...so kid tested, and mother approved, and that earns 5 STARS!
My thanks to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
A big thank you to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing/Happy Fox Books for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. Thanks is a children's book. It reminds me of a childhood favorite A Fly Went By. This is based on the story The old Lady who Swallowed a fly. It is silly but still fun for kids. I agree with another reviewer why are there white blobs on the pages-not needed. This is very colorful. I would rate it a 3.
I really enjoyed The original tale of the old woman who swallowed a fly, and I loved this update. The illustration style was detailed and cute, and I loved the color palette. Definitely a great choice to read with your kids.
I think I'm missing something here. What are the white blobs that correspond with the shape of the old lady's expanding stomach? I'm still scratching my head over that. (I'm wondering if it's some feature that's only visible in the physical version.)
This may be a kid-friendly take on the old song, but it's been watered down to the point where it's kind of boring. Instead of the refrain of "perhaps she'll die", we get various rhyming phrases that change as the book goes on. And the ending, which sees the old lady die from swallowing a horse, just makes reference to the fact that the old lady is pretty full.
The illustrations are colourful and appealing. Aside from those weird white blobs, they're kind of fun.
Overall, I don't know if I'd recommend this one. The original is funny because it's both nonsensical and logical. This version is just nonsensical and overly sanitized.
While this is a good fun reboot of the old lady who swallowed a fly, then a whole list of other counter-measures one after the other, I don't think the revision of the text was exactly needed. Right from the off the adult can see that all that's been changed is the bit about her being killed off. We can't have that now, can we – death in the nursery? Let's all make ourselves merry and have Ring-a-Ring-of-Roses instead, which ends (spoiler alert) with everyone participating dropping dead of the plague. Yes, in taking out the repeated line of the old lass's potential demise, we get a new rhyme each time instead, which came across really well, and made me smile, but hiding the crux of the poem felt very wishy-washy, and the final substitution here fell flat as a result. Artwork is good, if it's a style you like, and the kids will enjoy this. But Thomas Bowdler died in 1825, and his art of scything the flesh from everything he wanted on the page should have ended with him.
I'll give it a positive rating for the talent here and the appreciation I assume the target audience will have for it – I think my comments are clear enough.
I Know an Old Lady is the lovely story of The Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly but with a twist making the original story child friendly. My four year old son loved it.
Thank you to NetGalley and Fox Chapel Publishing for my ARC.
This is a cute rhyme book - it’s a story about the old lady who swallowed the fly , with a little twist that makes it kid friendly. I thought it was funny and catchy. I can definitely see this being a hit with preschoolers, they would get a real kick out of this one!