Child's Play

Review of Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly

This much loved traditional story provides a wealth of activities and is very cleverly constructed so that the holes in the book work both backwards and forwards. The story is about a huge old lady who accidentally swallows a fly then swallows a great many animals one by one as a remedy, until she finally ingests one to many. Repetition and build up are strong features of the story. It also contains steady rhythm and rhyme, and children love the inevitability of the denouement.

5 to 7 Educator. 1st February 2005

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