There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. . . . Young readers will love hearing about the fly and all the other creepy-crawly bugs the old lady gulps down in this fanciful feast based on the traditional song. With a taste for slugs, the old lady also enjoys a poached roach and a squirmy worm during the course of the story. And a surprise ending reveals that this isn't just any old lady. Kindergarten-Grade 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 (c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. “Johnette Downing is a true Louisiana artist. She sings and plays music; she paints; and she loves great Louisiana food. I fell in love with her work a few years ago when she sang ‘Today Is Monday in Louisiana’ on my PBS television series. Kudos to Johnette on another great work.”―Chef John Folse “New Orleans singer-songwriter-author Johnette Downing has done it again―taken a familiar story and made it her own. This time, it’s There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. With Downing’s touch, the last line of each passage has been softened a bit to something a little less frightening for small readers. Another entertaining read for young ones.” ―Judy Bergeron, Baton Rouge Advocate “Johnette Downing knows the child’s mind and the child’s heart deeply. Her reshaping of the classic tale and her striking illustrations are documentation of her brilliant visitations into those places where the child’s imagination resides.” ―Darrell Bourque, Louisiana poet laureate 2009-11 “There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.” And so begins this fun and flavorful twist to the familiar tale of one very hungry old lady with a taste for bugs. Gulping down insects, the old lady soon fills her belly with a spider, slug, ant, flea, and others. Vibrant collage-style illustrations accompany the rhythmic verse of this wiggly, jiggly, creepy-crawly story with a surprise for dessert! Johnette Downing is a multi-award-winning, internationally recognized singer, songwriter, and author. Her many accolades include eight Parents’ Choice Awards, two Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media Awards, five National Parenting Publications Awards, four iParenting Media Awards, a Family Choice Award, and three Family Review Center Awards. Downing and her husband, Scott Billington, reside in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Newburyport, Massachusetts. "Johnette Downing is a true Louisiana artist. She sings and plays music; she paints; and she loves great Louisiana food. I fell in love with her work a few years ago when she sang 'Today Is Monday in Louisiana' on my PBS television series. Kudos to Johnette on another great work."--Chef John Folse "New Orleans singer-songwriter-author Johnette Downing has done it again--taken a familiar story and made it her own. This time, it's There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. With Downing's touch, the last line of each passage has been softened a bit to something a little less frightening for small readers. Another entertaining read for young ones." --Judy Bergeron, Baton Rouge Advocate "Johnette Downing knows the child's mind and the child's heart deeply. Her reshaping of the classic tale and her striking illustrations are documentation of her brilliant visitations into those places where the child's imagination resides." --Darrell Bourque, Louisiana poet laureate 2009-11 "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly." And so begins this fun and flavorful twist to the familiar tale of one very hungry old lady with a taste for bugs. Gulping down insects, the old lady soon fills her belly with a spider, slug, ant, flea, and others. Vibrant collage-style illustrations accompany the rhythmic verse of this wiggly, jiggly, creepy-crawly story with a surprise for dessert! Johnette Downing is a multi-award-winning, internationally recognized singer, songwriter, and author. Her many accolades include eight Parents' Choice Awards, two Parent's Guide to Children's Media Awards, five National Parenting Publications Awards, four