Customer Reviews

I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book may become my all time favorite for modeling language and rhythm among all the many versions of There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. But it is even more wonderful for children of all ages. Music majors will love it, and I plan to buy it for my son's orchestra teacher. The art of John O'Brien is so complementary of the words, they tell beyond the story line. The author and the artist have worked hard to show accuracies about musical instruments in relation to current as well as historical times. A classroom teacher using this book can easily expand discussions and help children relate text to world examples and model best practice for students. I teach pre-service teachers at the university level in Children's Literature and Garriel's book is a must for such courses. I can't rave enough!

Just a glance at the title tells you this is going to be a fun book.....and it is. Colorful, outrageous illustrations by the imaginative John Gabriel joyfully partner with the rhyming text.

There is a fellow, a music lover who suffers from severe shyness. He has gone to hear a duet by a cello and a viola when suddenly he feels an irresistible urge to swallow the cello - and he does. Preposterous? Not in the mind of Barbara S. Garriel.

Think what swallowing a cello would do to a person's figure let alone his or her digestive tract. You'll have to see these wacky illustrations to get an idea. Now, as if swallowing a cello weren't enough this timid soul follows that feat by ingesting a harp, a sax, a fiddle, a cymbal, a kazoo, and a bell. The fellow has become a veritable one man band.

Obviously, no one can spend the rest of his life with these instruments inside. What's the solution?

The answer is a very funny surprise.

- Gail Cooke

The kids in my class loved singing along. I read/sang it with my K-3 music students. They all know the tune and enjoyed this variation. I used it to introduce various instruments and as a memory test for the kids. Cute pictures, well written. Just be ready to explain the word "bellow."

This book is a trip ! I teach Music K-2 and all the children loved this book. The best part about Shy Fellow is that it's a great teaching tool in terms of all different musical instruments swallowed. The children were amused, curious and interested with every page!
Music Teachers: I highly recommend this book !!

Barbara S. Garriel has created an interesting shy fellow who has an almost never ending appetite for musical instruments. With the artistry of John O'Brien and the writing talents of Ms. Garriel, this shy fellow takes a whimsical journey that will have everyone smiling. This book is a "must have" !

My grandson (22 months) laughs when this is read and at the same time has learned the names of various musical instruments

This is a great book to use introduce instruments to young students. Has some very funny rhymes for young ones. A great companion book to I know an Old Woman... A must for music teachers. Can be used as a major part of the lesson. Even would be great to leave for sub to read and show pictures of the instruments.

John O'Brien illustrates I Know A Shy Fellow Who Swallowed A Cello, a zany story of a shy wallflower who listens to a duet for cello and viola and who one day attracts attention by swallowing a cello. His appetite for music increases and suddenly he is absorbing numerous musical instruments in his diet in this wacky tale.

This book is delicious! A parody on the song, " I know an old Lady who Swallowed a Fly", "I know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello" is funnier and delightfully illustrated. I purchased it because I am a music educator, and I highly recommend it for children from ages 3 to 100, but only if they have active imaginations.

I use this book in my preschool music class, and my children really like it. It's definitely not my favorite book for teaching instrument names, but it always makes the kids giggle. The specific instruments that the shy fellow "swallows" are kinda random... cello, saxophone, harp, kazoo? It also doesn't make sense to me that the book says things like "He swallowed the cymbal to jam with the harp." How in the world does a cymbal jam with a harp, and how do you get a preschooler to understand the concept of "jamming"??? It's just not very logical. On the bright side, the illustrations are interesting and memorable, and like I said before, the book makes my students laugh. It's a useful book for teaching the names of some instruments, so long as you don't take the book seriously. I recommend "Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin" way more though.