There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback

Simms Taback, the author, lives in the Catskill Mountains in New York State. There was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly is a nursery rhyme that Taback turned into a brightly illustrated children's book. This book went on to become a Caldecott Honor book.

One reason that this book is so neat to read with young children is because of the repetitiveness and sequence that it offers. Each time the old lady swallows something it is so that it can catch the previous thing that she has swallowed. It is also a neat way for younger children to look at some basics of the food chain, so not only can this book be used for english to demonstrate repetition, but it can also be used in science!

Here are a few other books by Simms Taback that you and your child might enjoy reading together:
City Animals andJoseph Had a Little Overcoat