There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Bugs

K-Gr 2—Yet another take on the insatiable appetite of the Old Lady, this adaptation offers a few twists. The refrain, "perhaps she'll cry," makes a less-dire alternative to previous iterations of the poem, while enough creatures (an ant, a flea, a slug, a worm, a roach, among others) are shown roaming around in the woman's stomach to rank high on the "kid-approval/disgusting" meter. Bright colors and large collage images introduce each unlucky creature with visuals of a tongue and teeth and a vividly pink stomach interior. Traditional cumulative verses bring rhythm to the rhyme with creative additions adapted to the topic—"She liked them poached./She swallowed a roach," or "She was on a rant when/she swallowed that ant." A play on words foreshadows the final surprise as the old lady "croaked!/...on her lily pad all night. Ribbit. Ribbit!" Readers of this version will find sly humor and a bit of the unexpected presented with bold art.—Mary Elam, Learning Media Services Plano ISD, TX