I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie (Picture Puffins) [Paperback]

Alison Jackson (Author), Judy Schachner (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: September 16, 2002 | Age Range: 3 - 8 years | Series: Picture Puffins

I know an old lady who swallowed a pie, a Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.

And with that the feast begins! After the pie the old lady swallows a whole squash, all of the salad, and the entire turkey! As Mother and Father watch in shock, the two children are delighted to see the old lady growing fatter and fatter. And, in the end, the old lady makes a surprising and humorous contribution to the holiday festivities.

"Jackson draws on some traditional Thanksgiving foods to give a familiar rhyme new zing. Schachner's exuberant, cartoon-style illustrations . . . catch the comedy splendidly!" (Booklist)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the awfully silly I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie, children's librarian and author Alison Jackson bypasses pilgrims completely and cuts straight to the stomach of Thanksgiving in America--dinner. A slightly dizzying new spin on the well-loved cumulative rhyming song "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," this madcap picture book stars a ravenously hungry relative who comes to Thanksgiving dinner with a pie. Since she eats the pie in its entirety before she even gets in the house, she has to swallow some cider (that "rumbled and mumbled and grumbled inside her"). If you must know, "She swallowed the cider to moisten the pie, / The Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry, /Perhaps she'll die." The story continues in this vein, as we watch the hosts grow visibly alarmed--and the children visibly delighted-- by the old lady's surreal appetite and supernaturally increasing girth. Illustrator Judith Byron Schachner--creator of the acclaimed Willy and May--has masterfully captured this ludicrous tale in hilariously haywire pen-and-ink drawings, splashed with watercolor. Kids will love this romping, rhyming frolic through a familiar favorite. (Ages 4 to 8) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The illustrations freshen up the old cumulative chestnut. "The old lady herself is a tour de force of visual slapstick," wrote PW. "Even the typography joins the fun." Ages 3-8.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 8 years
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin; Reprint edition (September 16, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140565957
• ISBN-13: 978-0140565959
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 0.1 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #58,493 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Children's Books > Holidays & Celebrations > Thanksgiving

More About the Author

Alison Jackson has been a children's author for over twenty years. As a children's librarian she became aware of the needs of young readers, along with their interests, and she has been writing for them ever since. Her most popular book, I KNOW AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A PIE, is a humorous Thanksgiving take-off on the children's song, "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," in which her little old lady consumes nearly everything she sees on Thanksgiving Day. THE BALLAD OF VALENTINE, a Valentine's Day spin-off from the song, "Clementine," appeared on the New York Times Best Seller's list, and her most recent novel, EGGS OVER EVIE, has received starred reviews in both School Library Journal and the Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. Her next publication, WHEN THE WIND BLEW will be out in January, 2013. It is a variation on "Rock-a-Bye,Baby", in which the wind blows the baby right out of the tree and onto the roof of a shoe house, belonging to the "Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe." The unpredictable wind rearranges many familiar nursery rhymes before finally shifting and setting everything right.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good golly Granny--show some manners! May 15, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

*Hilarious* is the only word to describe this picture book which is a take off of the classic "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.

When an "old lady" comes to Thanksgiving dinner she swallows a pumpkin pie--whole. To wash down the pie (which was really too dry) she gulps some cider which "rumbles and mumbles and grumbles" inside her. Then to the horror of the adults and the delight of the children she gobbles the entire Thanksgiving feast!

The illustrations cap off the delightful text and add even more fantastic humor as the old lady grows in proportion with each outlandish bite.

A must read for story time--kids will be giggling more with every turn of the page. And you'll be "thankful" you don't have such a relative. Or do you?

Karma Wilson

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Holiday Tradition November 15, 2000

By Roz Levine

Format:Hardcover

Alison Jackson has written a superb take-off on the classic, I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. In this very funny, very hip rendering, the old lady with an unbelievable appetite, swallows first the pie, the very pie she brought to the Thanksgiving feast. This is followed by a jug of cider..."to moisten the pie which was really too dry", then a roll, a squash, the salad, the turkey and on and on.....With each addition, she grows bigger and fatter to the delight and amusement of the family children and the horror of their parents, as they watch their entire holiday meal disappear. Ms Jackson's text is complimented by Judith Byron Schachner's wonderfully expressive and detailed illustrations. Together they have authored a holiday classic, complete with charming, surprise ending, that will be enjoyed by your family for many years to come.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilariously funny Thanksgiving tale!!! August 23, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

My children enjoyed this book emensely! Wonderful illustrations ! A new "Thanksgiving read" tradition!