There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Star product reviews

My mum won this book and gave it to my son. The first thing you notice is the cover with the moving image which really captured my son's attention and as he is only very young he was reaching out with his hand trying to touch it as it moved. The illustrations throughout the book are also fantastic bright colourful and really funny.

The story itself following along with the theme of there was an old lady who swallowed a fly story this is a great story about an old lady who swallows all manner of Christmas themed items until she finally pops! I think it would make a great Christmas present for a young child as it is really funny.

It is such an easy book to read with its rhyming and repetition and young children would be able to join in in reading the story too. My 11 year old thought the story was really funny too and has been enjoying reading it to her little brother.

The one thing I noticed straight away was the spelling mistake on the third page where instead of reading There was an old lady it says the was an old lady. It didn't really make a difference to reading the story as I knew what it was supposed to say but I did notice it straight away. I'm sure this will become very popular in our house when my son learns who Santa is.

The first thing you notice about this book is the cover. Its got a special moving image coating to it. So you can watch the old lady move on the cover. There are also two naughty mice that you should look out for, both on the cover and in the book as well. Inside the front of the cover is room for you to name the book and put your dedication which is awesome as this book screams "excellent Christmas present".

Inside the illustrations are in full vibrant colour. The old lady is cartoony and kind looking, despite her swallowing everything in sight. Each page offers a new spread of activity and excitement. The mice antics made my daughter laugh as did the appetite of the old lady. At one or two points she was on the ground laughing too hard to stand. We also liked the expressions on the faces of all the characters and trying to figure out what might happen next.

The pages are beautifully glossy and great quality. Even though its a soft cover book, it doesn't feel flimsy like some can. This is based on a traditional song that I know really well. Because of that, I did find the words a little harder to get around. It is a shame about the typo in "there", as this does hurt the book. As a mum of a new reader, it's really important that I read what is on the page and not make things up. Some of the verses also didn't flow quite as nicely as I read and I had to think before I opened my mouth. Still that didn't detract from the enjoyment of the pictures and I'm sure on another reading or two of the book I would be more comfortable.

I have always loved the I know an old lady who swallowed a fly and sang it at school (the song is going through my head a I am typing this) so when I saw there a Christmas version where she swallowed a star I had to get it.

When it arrived the first thing that I noticed was the fantastic front cover. It is a holographic one that shows the old woman climbing the tree to get the star. This really appealed to the children to and drew them over to listen to the story. I almost had to pry the book off them so I could read it. As soon as I had finished reading my four year old daughter took it and sat for a long time tilting it so the old lady would move.

The children loved listening to me read ( actually I sang it) this book. It contains the essential elements for a child at Christmas Santa, reindeer, lights and a stocking. The words were white different from the original song but it still fitted in well with the tune. The illustrations were fun and had great facial expressions.

I loved this book the only thing that let it down was a typo (The instead of there) which I didn't notice until third reading. This is the publishers error and should have been picked up before printing. Hopefully Scholastic correct this before they do any more print runs of this great book.

I see inside the back cover this author and illustrator team have already released three other versions of the classic song. I will be looking out for these next time I'm in the library to share with my children too.

Based on "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly" This Old Lady proceeds to eat lots of Christmas related items. By not having a spider that wriggles and tickles this story isn't nearly as much fun, however the kids love the cover of this book. It is lenticular and as you turn the book the old lady climbs up the top of the tree to gobble the star. My three girls love this and have spent ages playing with the book. The illustrations in this book are very colourful and christmassy and fun. Miss One has been captivated by the illustrations.

Miss Six doesn't like the spelling mistake on one of the pages where instead of "there" it reads "the was an old lady". Spelling mistakes in children's picture books are one of my pet hates so this dropped the books rating significantly. Although the cover is great this book just didn't do it for me. Miss Four doesn't "like it so much" and it is (aside from being played with for the cover) the least requested book of those we have read in the last few weeks.

I wouldn't put it up in my top ten to buy for the Christmas stocking based on the spelling mistake and that it just isn't as catchy as the original. Having said that the illustrations are great and the cover a great gimmick.