Pistes d'exploration

Why do you think the sailor swallowed all the animals? As a class, write him a letter offering advice about his diet.

Review and sing the song: “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” Based on the cover and title, what sea creatures do you predict will be in the story? Compare your predictions to the “Fishy Facts” at the back of the book.

As you read, take turns recreating some of the illustrations with tableaux. Bring your tableau to life with each character voicing a few thoughts.

Create an additional page for the book featuring another sea creature. Try to create a rhyming sentence to go along with it.

Learn the names of the sea animals and discuss where they live. Match name labels and illustrations.

Choral read the story while doing the actions. Practise using intonation.

Use the story as a model for creating a new version of the song. With a partner, choose a selection of animals that live in the same ecosystem.

Research fish that live in the lakes or rivers in your area. Create “Fishy Facts” as found on the last pages of the book.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Shell!

Mots-clés

Humour , Picture book , Songs , cumulative stories , recurrent patterns , stories in rhyme , underwater life

Commentaire descriptif

This rhyming story pays homage to the old lady who swallowed a fly, with an old sailor who, “. . . swallowed the krill—It’ll make him ill.” Ever-bigger sea creatures go down his throat, including a squid, (“Yes, he did—he swallowed a squid!”) and a ray (“Oh, what a day when he swallowed the ray!”) Children may wish to recite or sing the lyrics, as the story recaps all the animals: “He swallowed the fish to catch the jellyThat wriggled and wriggled and jiggled his belly . . . .” Quaint, stylish illustrations use defined brushstrokes to create polished compositions of the rotund sailor and recognizably depicted animals. Curlicue waves carry a beautifully rendered blue whale toward the gaping mouth of the sailor (dwarfed, in one corner of the image). In the next, he clings to the side of his boat as fish, jellyfish and krill are the last to fly out from his great yellow beard—all finally released by a burp. In this version there’s a happy ending: the sailor steers his little tub through calm waters beneath clear skies while the whale, seal, shark and others swim below. The final spread offers brief “Fishy Facts” on all the animals.