There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout

by Teri Sloat, Reynold Ruffins (Illustrator)

A bright, energetic retelling of a beloved children's rhyme, with a Pacific Northwest twist.

"There was an old lady who swallowed a trout
That splished and splashed and thrashed about."

Everyone has heard about the old lady who swallowed a fly, but there is something particularly fishy about this old lady . . .

Beautiful illustrations in this story capture the scenery and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest. The buoyant text jumps along as the old lady swallows a salmon, an otter, a seal, a walrus, and more, until eventually she swallows the entire sea and the trout swims free! With a unique and fascinating setting, this pure flight of fancy gives a fresh look to a familiar poem.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Poetry, Fantasy, Humor, Folklore

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the favorite of the books I read to Alena today. I really like the way Teri Sloat rhymes. This one is clever. I also really like the illustrations. For some reason, this also made me think about Heavenly Mother and women's part in the creation of the world. Beautiful.

[Noah Schill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think the ontological significance of this piece of art is even greater than that if Moby Dick. The subtle reference to the Revolution of 1848 was truly astounding.

[Jonathan Ryal · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story offered something I don’t feel I see as common in fairytales and children’s books, creature of water and the ocean. This unique retelling of the old lady who swallowed a fly takes us through the life of a lady who grows as she eats the next object on the pages you turn until the point where she swallows the ocean. At the end she ends up laughing and everything ends up coming back out. Being one of the shorter reads in this genre, kids are able get into the story with its repetitive text and song like reading. The images are also very bright and eye catching. I saw this version as more interesting and captivating the its original counterpart and a must read for its differences alone.

[Cana · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was silly.

[Tara Schloetter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a spin-off of the tale: There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Instead, this book is based in the Pacific Northwest and includes aspects of this geographical area in the illustrations and the text. The old lady swallows a trout, a salmon, an otter, a seal, a porpoise, a walrus, a whale, and finally she swallows the complete ocean. These are all animals that are found in the Pacific Northwest, which would make it fun to read to children who live in that area because these are animals that they most likely are familiar with and would recognize. There is a lot of repetition in this book, which would make it a good book for young readers who are learning to read because many of the same words are used in each sentence. Another element used in this book is rhyme, which is added in with each new animal that the old lady swallows.

[Audrey Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout by Teri Sloat is about how an old lady swallowed the entire ocean and the sea animals within it. Once she hiccupped and laughed, the whole ocean and its contents came out in a different area from where she started out. This myth, detailing the old lady's supernatural skills, could possibly display how one of the oceans came to be. I like how silly this book is, and I think that younger students would enjoy listening to this, and the older elementary grades would enjoy reading this due to its fun rhythmic pattern.

[Peyton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminded me of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly." It seems like an almost direct correlation to that. I thought it was depicting a different culture however. This is on the banks in some fishing village. However the fly book depicts an inner country rural farming town. I like that they are the same but different.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take on There was an old lady who swallowed a fly, using Native and Pacific Northwest imagery. From what I could find, neither the author nor the illustrator are Native, which would be fine since this is not a Native tale being retold, but it makes me wonder about the accuracy of the images of totem poles and things like that.

[AMY · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book to compare with other old lady stories. This rhyming story comes from the Pacific Northwest and features animals from that region, like trout, salmon, seals, and more. It would be a great read-aloud book. The illustrations feature totem poles and other cultural items that readers will notice. Highly recommended for Grades 2-5.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A twist on a familiar nursery rhyme. This time an old lady swallows a trout, who just wanted out. As the rhyme continues telling what the old lady swallows to get to the trout, who just wanted out will thrill and amaze the reader. A fun out loud read!

[bibliophagy · Rating 1 out of 5]

this whole series of books about some white lady swallowing everything in sight was disturbing to me as a child and continues on into this reading today. what are we teaching kids with this one and why?

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story and beautiful illustrations!

[Kaelin Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I didn't really get into it. I don't know why, but I was not a fan of it. I suppose children might like it because it's silly, but I don't know.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun rendition of that crazy little old lady that swallowed a fly.

[Mely · Rating 3 out of 5]

A silly book inspired by the classic tale, I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Uniquely iIllustrated. Would be really fun for the animal lovers.

[Grace Thurman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The old lady is swallowing things again. This time she is swallowing up different type of animals that you would see in the northwest Pacific Ocean.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had good illustrations. She ended up spitting everything out luckily in the end.

[Kinley Kaelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is one of many classics about an old lady! So funny

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a take-off of the old woman who swallowed a spider.. It's very cute and very imaginative with wonderful illustrations. It was definitely written with a sea coast town in mind.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The West Coast setting in the illustrations was really amazing.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Pacific Northwest version of There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly, focusing on aquatic animals from trout to whales until the old lady is so big she swallows the ocean itself.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever!

[Bethany Meadows · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids loved it

[Kristina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a different version of there was an old lady who swallowed a fly. I thought that it was ok. It was almost like a folktale to me. This is also an AR book for anyone who wants to know.

[Lynnette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've never liked this old lady story. interesting to use Pacific Northwest animals. not a huge fan of the illustrations either.

[Paxton Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern fantasy, K-3rd
This book is a spin-off from "There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout". I really liked this one because it talks more about water animals, and I tend to drift more towards those.

[Alyx Chamberlain · Rating 2 out of 5]

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout is a funny story about a woman who keeps swallowing absurd things and each time the object she swallows becomes larger and larger in order to catch the last thing she swallowed. Pretty soon, she swallows the entire ocean and after that burps it all out.

I really enjoyed this story, especially because growing up I remember a similar nursery rhyme about a little old woman who swallowed a fly, "There was an old woman who swallowed a fly, I don't know why she swallowed a fly, perhaps she'll die." The use of words makes it sound almost like poetry with the rhyming and rhythm.

The book features great artwork which is also a tribute to Native American culture and incorporates a lot of artwork from that culture which would be great to acknowledge in the classroom. I also think students would love this because it’s a funny story and they probably wouldn’t realize it’s poetry. I would certainly use this as a read aloud and possibly as a quick and fun introduction into culture. Quick, fun, and silly read!

[Miranda Jones · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a take-off of the familiar story of the woman who swallowed a fly. This would be a fun book to read to students who are early readers because it is predicable. The phrases of the sequence of the animals eaten by the lady are the same and are repeated each time the lady eats something new. Another element in this book is that it rhymes. This book has cadence and flows smoothly with each phrase because of the rhyming. This book would be a good book to use when teaching about food chains. The lady swallows the various animals in order for them to eat the animals she had already swallowed. However, I think there are some inconsistencies with the realism of this food chain. For example, a porpoise does not eat a seal, so the lady should not have swollen a porpoise to get rid of the seal. This book would also be beneficial to use in a classroom of the Pacific Northwest because it includes animals found in that area, so it would be relatable to the students.

[Brad Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Trout is a picture book written by Teri Sloat and illustrated by Reynold Ruffins. It was published in 1998, and is presented with a portrait layout. The story is a spinoff from the old story, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Most of the illustrations follow the portrait layout, but some illustrations cover both pages, resulting in more of a landscape. The text style is simple and classic and is printed in straight lines. On the pages with landscape illustrations, the text kind of ties into the images. But with the pages that are only portrait, the text is separated from the pictures. TWAOLWSAT could be useful in developing reading skills, but its repetitive story could result in the reader simply repeating the words being said, rather than reading the words on the page.

[Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is just like The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, but with all ocean/water animals. It would be great if you were studying marine life with your class. It also rhymes with each of the animals that the old lady swallows! This book would also be great to teach sequence of events with or even make a game out of! The illustrations remind me of folktale art, with the rich colors and emphasis on nature and animals. It's not very original because it's just a new take on an old story, so my rating is a little lower.