Product Description

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)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #106730 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-16
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780140565959
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

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)

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.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-K. In a holiday version of a familiar children's song, an old lady swallows a dry Thanksgiving pie and a succession of other foods, beginning with an entire jug of cider to moisten the pie. Although the cider rumbles and grumbles agreeably inside her, the other foods are not related. The woman swallows a salad to go with a squash, a pot to go with a turkey, and a 10-layer cake to go with the pot. While no one can accuse the original "I Know an Old Lady" of making sense, the animals devoured increase in size each time and fit into a more-or-less logical food chain. Jackson's version is redeemed, however, by the fun of rhymes such as "Her future looked murky, after that turkey" and an ending that shows the old lady as a giant balloon in a Thanksgiving Parade as she finally says, "I'm full." Schachner's watercolor illustrations are absolutely delightful. Children will find lots to examine and enjoy in these expressive pictures, particularly the repeated appearances of the woman's fluffy white cat.?Jackie Hechtkopf, Talent House School, Fairfax, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Good golly Granny--show some manners!
*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

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

A New Holiday Tradition
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.