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There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly

Illustrated by Rashin Kheiriyeh
Published by NorthSouth Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

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About The Book

A fresh and feisty take on a beloved classic!

We all remember the old lady who swallowed a fly, a spider, a cat, a dog, a cow, and a horse. Now we know how she did it! Rashin’s colorful and comedic illustrations take you from midgulp to midbelly as the animals are swallowed whole. Her devoted cat tries to help: “Stop!” “Don’t eat it.” “Try this!” But when the old lady grabs the cat it’s every beast for itself. “Eat the dog!” And when the old lady cheers: “Catch it!”— the critters leap into action to catch the one that was swallowed before.

A spirited and funny read-aloud.
School Library Journal

The star of this show is the rainbow-scarved black kitty with his outsize personality that jumps off every page.
BookDragon

About The Illustrator

Rashin Kheiriyeh is a multi-award-winning author-illustrator, animator, and painter who has more than ninety children’s books to her credit. Her books have been published in at least twelve countries and she was nominated for the 2023 & 2024 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to children's literature. She is also the recipient of a Sendak Fellowship Award, a 2009 New Horizon Award (Bologna Ragazzi), and is a six-time winner of the Bologna Book Fair Illustration competition. Rashin Kheiriyeh is the character artist of the most popular animation series on national television in Iran called “Shekarestan” (“Sugarland”). She now lives in Washington, DC.

Product Details

  • Publisher: NorthSouth Books (May 5, 2020)
  • Length: 32 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780735841932
  • Grades: P - 2
  • Ages: 4 - 8

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Raves and Reviews

"Colorful, quirky illustrations combined with hilarious speech bubbles will make this new version of the traditional story/song appealing to children... A spirited and funny read-aloud."

– School Library Journal

"What’s new here is, of course, the fabulously hilarious colorful facelift. Sure, the eponymous old lady is still really old (although her skin care regimen is definitely working for her!), but the real star of this show is her rainbow-scarved black kitty with his outsize personality that jumps off every page...

Kitty suggests antacid instead of adding another wriggler, but the old lady is too busy yelling “Catch it!” to the growing menagerie in her expanding tummy. With barely a pause between gulps, the old lady definitely has some stored-up superhuman energy – she’s determined to chase down that dog, cow, horse! But no worries – a happy (enough) ending awaits all. Most especially, we readers, who will surely be “Yay!”-ing, “Hee!”-ing, “Neigh!”-ing right along."

– BookDragon

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More books from this illustrator: Rashin Kheiriyeh