Even though the story of the old lady swallowing a fly has been told many times, this one is my favorite. It has pop-up pictures as you flip the pages, which the kids really enjoy. I would read this book to pre-k-third grade classes. I feel that the other versions of this story would be best for older kids. ( )

Simple, elegant, amusing.

This is a nice little miniature format pop-up book by noted Polish illustrator Jan Pienkowski. It contains only five pop-ups (across 10 pages) consisting of a spider, a bat, a bird, a cow, and a ghost. The source text comes from the lyrics to the song, "There was an old woman who swallowed a fly" by Rose Bonne. The music for that work was by Alan Mills but is not reproduced in this book.

The paper engineering is simple and sturdy, though the beak of the bird does have a tendency to tear. The illustrations themselves are typical for Pienkowski, whimsical and humorous throughout. ( )