I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, from The Secret Mountain, is the illustrated story of a woman who inexplicably swallows a fly, and subsequently swallows larger and larger creatures in an effort to catch the previous one. Each verse ends with “I guess she’ll die,” until she goes too far and swallows a horse. The story concludes with “She’s dead, of course.” Illustrator PisHier has created beautiful, Picasso-esque images to depict the sequence of events, which shows the contents of the old lady’s stomach as the fly, the spider, bird, the cat, the dog, the goat, and the cow watch TV, ride a roller coaster, enjoy tea, and take a dip in the pool. The whimsical pictures are the best part; each one a true work of art.
The back of the book contains a sing-along CD, and each song after “I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly” includes a dedicated page in the book with printed lyrics and an illustration. My favorite song on the album is “Sailing Over the Sea,” which has an old-time, nautical sound. “Twelve Kittens,” “Per Fiddler,” and “My Father’s In the City” are also lively tunes that are sure to get little ones engaged.
