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There Was an Old Lady
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Frog!
Spring is in the air, and everyone's favorite old lady is ready to celebrate! That zany old lady is back--and with a serious case of spring fever! This time she's swallowing items to make the most of the season...with a beautiful garden!With rhyming text and funny illustrations, this lively version of the classic song will appeal to young readers with every turn of the page--a wacky story for the first day of spring!
32 pages, Paperback
First published December 30, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
April 30, 2020
I can't give the old lady books less than 5 stars. My young students love them! They laugh and laugh!
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June 8, 2015Children's Literature - Wendy Miller Kibler
Colandro gives a garden-themed spin on the classic children’s song “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” Instead of swallowing creatures of increasing sizes, she swallows items associated with a garden: dirt, seeds, rain, sunlight, gardening gloves, and a rake. She also swallows a frog, which of course is not needed for a garden; but perhaps it made for a better title than “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Dirt.” At the end, instead of dying as in the original song, this particular old lady not only lives, but burps and barfs out a garden! Most children love to hear tales of bodily functions, so the ending should be a hit with little ones. In two places the narrator asks a question, which is a great opportunity to allow children to move from passive listeners to active participants. In addition, a teachable moment comes near the end of the story when the old lady realizes she should not have swallowed a rake followed by her good manners after she burps. It is confusing, though, that the entire book is written in past tense, identifying items that the old lady swallowed, except for the gloves, which she apparently loves to swallow on an ongoing basis. The illustrations are bright and energetic, and the old lady’s mouth is rightly exaggerated enough for the reader to believe she certainly could swallow just about anything. Beyond the mere pleasure of the story and its accompanying illustrations, the repetition in the text helps children become more fluent readers. In addition, the Scholastic website offers teachers classroom resources to use as adjuncts to the story. Reviewer: Wendy Miller Kibler; Ages 5 to 7
I did not notice how everything the old lady swallowed was written in past tense except the gloves which was very interesting to me!
Colandro gives a garden-themed spin on the classic children’s song “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” Instead of swallowing creatures of increasing sizes, she swallows items associated with a garden: dirt, seeds, rain, sunlight, gardening gloves, and a rake. She also swallows a frog, which of course is not needed for a garden; but perhaps it made for a better title than “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Dirt.” At the end, instead of dying as in the original song, this particular old lady not only lives, but burps and barfs out a garden! Most children love to hear tales of bodily functions, so the ending should be a hit with little ones. In two places the narrator asks a question, which is a great opportunity to allow children to move from passive listeners to active participants. In addition, a teachable moment comes near the end of the story when the old lady realizes she should not have swallowed a rake followed by her good manners after she burps. It is confusing, though, that the entire book is written in past tense, identifying items that the old lady swallowed, except for the gloves, which she apparently loves to swallow on an ongoing basis. The illustrations are bright and energetic, and the old lady’s mouth is rightly exaggerated enough for the reader to believe she certainly could swallow just about anything. Beyond the mere pleasure of the story and its accompanying illustrations, the repetition in the text helps children become more fluent readers. In addition, the Scholastic website offers teachers classroom resources to use as adjuncts to the story. Reviewer: Wendy Miller Kibler; Ages 5 to 7
I did not notice how everything the old lady swallowed was written in past tense except the gloves which was very interesting to me!
June 21, 2019
Maxwell - 100 star - it is so funny
Leila - 5 stars- (June 20, 2019) that she swallowed everything that she actually swallowed. I liked about how she swallowed some hay to make the flower
Leila - 5 stars- (June 20, 2019) that she swallowed everything that she actually swallowed. I liked about how she swallowed some hay to make the flower
January 10, 2023
general review: ‘there was an old lady who swallowed’ series speaks of, obviously, an old lady who swallows things; it doesn’t matter whether or not they’re edible. narrated in short sentences filled with internal rhymes and repetitions, it delays the reader’s understanding to what the ‘what’ and ‘why’ aspects for the old lady swallowing things. actually, up until one understands the ‘theme’ of the things she swallows and gets an outcome when the story ends, it’s still nonsensical, but that’s what makes it a comical read. there’s real potential that this leaves children both (1) wondering; filled with questions and (2) with a vivid and roused imagination.
specific review: this is my second read from the series and it’s not as fun as the first one. comparatively, as much as the valentine’s one was more visually appealing to me, i find this spring one better as the order of her swallows (except the frog) is scientifically pleasing and leaves room for the parent/teacher to impart new knowledge to their child/student.
3/5 stars for the same reason that it isn’t a book i would exactly recommend + the colour pallet isn’t bright enough to necessarily match spring aesthetics.
specific review: this is my second read from the series and it’s not as fun as the first one. comparatively, as much as the valentine’s one was more visually appealing to me, i find this spring one better as the order of her swallows (except the frog) is scientifically pleasing and leaves room for the parent/teacher to impart new knowledge to their child/student.
3/5 stars for the same reason that it isn’t a book i would exactly recommend + the colour pallet isn’t bright enough to necessarily match spring aesthetics.
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November 4, 2019This is one of my new favorite books. The old lady starts by swallowing a frog, but we don't know why. However, she then starts to swallow other items because she swallow the frog. At the end of the story she throws up a garden because she had been swallowing everything she would need to plant a garden.
This is a great book to use to work on sequence or cause and effect with students. What would come first in the order or why she chose to eat what she ate to counteract the other item she had ate.
For writing I would have students pull out an item from a hate and use that as their starting item that the Old Lady Swallowed. Another idea for writing would be progressive writing. Students would pass their paper in a circle and they would have to add the next item that the Old Lady ate that made sense with the precious item.
This book also has rhyming that could be a teaching point with students.
This is a great book to use to work on sequence or cause and effect with students. What would come first in the order or why she chose to eat what she ate to counteract the other item she had ate.
For writing I would have students pull out an item from a hate and use that as their starting item that the Old Lady Swallowed. Another idea for writing would be progressive writing. Students would pass their paper in a circle and they would have to add the next item that the Old Lady ate that made sense with the precious item.
This book also has rhyming that could be a teaching point with students.
September 20, 2018
I have read a similar book to this one called "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly!" made by the same author. I liked the illustrations throughout the book and how thing she ate kept growing. My favorite was at the end, where it all became a garden. However, I do not think this is a book I will reread again. I felt very bored and already knew what was going to happen since of the title and reading the previous book I mentioned. Overall, it was okay but I will not reread it again.
May 30, 2019
This book follows an old lady who swallows almost everything in her path. Through repetition and rhymes it becomes a catchy story of swallowing random items and in the end they all come together to make a garden.
These books have always entertained me as a child and they still do! They are very fun, lighthearted, and although not scientifically accurate they show how a bunch of different things can come together to create something beautiful.
These books have always entertained me as a child and they still do! They are very fun, lighthearted, and although not scientifically accurate they show how a bunch of different things can come together to create something beautiful.
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May 26, 2022I liked the illustrations throughout the book and how the things she ate kept growing. My favorite was at the end, where it all became a garden. Through repetition and rhymes, it becomes a catchy story. This is a great book to use to work on sequence or cause and effect with students. What would come first in the order or why she choose to eat what she ate to counteract the other item she had ate. The illustrations, the repetition in the text helps children become more fluent readers.
September 16, 2018
This children's book is a very interesting one! I think this book will keep the student's very interested because of the different things she eats throughout the story. It is a good story to make predictions with the students of what she will be eating next. The pictures in this book are very good as well and will defiantly keep the students involved with the story.
May 26, 2020
Another cute version of the basic story. This time the lady keeps swallowing things related to nature to make a surprise later on. There is always a nice twist at the end of this series. Whimsical and colorful illustrations will keep kids laughing. A great read-aloud book for younger children. Highly recommended for Grades K-2.
April 21, 2024
An old lady swallowed a frog, dirt, seeds, rain, sunlight, gloves, and rake. This is a good story to introduce the season Spring and all the things students might see. The old lady continues to swallow things until she burped, and out went everything that made a pretty garden!
August 27, 2025
Very Popular Story
My three year old can't seem to get enough of this story, and the others that follow. Wasn't a fan in the beginning but it grew on me after reading it a million times over.
My three year old can't seem to get enough of this story, and the others that follow. Wasn't a fan in the beginning but it grew on me after reading it a million times over.
May 24, 2017
A great repetitive book for those learning to read or early readers, but not my favorite in this series. The kids enjoyed it, though, and didn't stop laughing the entire time!
February 8, 2018
Gross. I don’t know if all the books in this series end with barfing, but I could do without it. Mini-Me thought it was great, though, so an extra star for her.
April 12, 2018
GRL: K
DRA: 18
DRA: 18
March 20, 2018
I love this series of books. As I read this to my son, he started dancing because of the way I read it.
March 27, 2018
A silly story to celebrate spring!
March 3, 2019
A songtale for my 1st graders. MAN ALIVE do the boys love the burp at the end.
March 4, 2019
just ok
overdone a good thing
flows
but choppy sometimes
overdone a good thing
flows
but choppy sometimes
July 3, 2019
Another old lady swallowing something. I think my kids are starting to wonder what's wrong with this chick. Lol. It was a cute book with good illustrations. I would recommend this book to others.
October 25, 2019
Cute. Am I the only one who saw the old lady and thought of the old man from "Courage the Cowardly Dog"?
November 8, 2019
it’s so delicate and funny hahhahaaha
September 30, 2020
For: nonsense fans; readers looking for a book that builds off of itself.
Possible red flags: silliness; gluttony.
Possible red flags: silliness; gluttony.
April 15, 2021
Another version of the classic "There was an old lady who...". In this installment the zany lady swallows a frog, then dirt, then seed, then......
What will she swallow next?
What will she swallow next?
July 17, 2021
The old lady with pica eats some Spring themed items like dirt and seeds and rain. I don't know why she swallowed the frog.
August 29, 2021
Such a cute book! The kids at work love it!
February 22, 2023
A fun spring-time spin on the classic rhyme.
April 18, 2023
Holt-Delhi library preschool story time 04-18-2023
July 14, 2023
Used to target sequencing, wh-questions, articulation, etc.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews