There Was an Old Sailor.
(Book)

PreS-Gr 1-This gorgeously illustrated tale is based on the song/story, "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," but it's about an old sailor who swallows common creatures from the deep, such as krill, a ray, a "jelly," a shark, a seal, and more, culminating with a whale. The lines of the story are predictable for children familiar with the song, but what makes this book stand out is the art. Allen has used gouache and pencils to create marvelous, colorful, page-filling depictions of the ocean creatures the sailor consumes, but more eye-catching is the sailor himself. His bushy beard and eyebrows, ruddy cheeks, expressive eyes, large arms, striped shirt, and sailor's cap all combine to make a most charming-looking sailor. The book concludes with a spread showing each of the ocean creatures swimming along, flanked by a brief fact about each one, e.g., "Krill are tiny critters. Five krill weigh about the same as one teaspoon of sugar!" This title is a worthy addition to any collection of variants of the original, but, more importantly, it might inspire children to come up with their own version of this tale after seeing what Saxby has created.-Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

An old sailor swallows a krill, then a jellyfish to catch it. True to the source ditty, swallowing begets more swallowing, but this version ends peacefully. The cheery adaptation is singable--if the singer doesn't mind adding a syllable to the refrain. Gouache and pencil illustrations are bright and whimsical enough that readers should know not to take the stocky sailor's swallowing seriously. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

With its catchy cumulative cadence, this nautically themed remake of the classic children's rhyme about that old woman who swallowed a fly is a natural for reading aloud. The old sailor swallows a krill and then swallows a jelly to eat the krill, and he works his way up, with mounting absurdity, to the final swallowa whale. The illustrations are adeptly rendered in gouache and pencil; the round modeling of the sailor juxtaposed against the flat, stylized sea is particularly effective. With each spacious double-page spread, the pictures show the sailor's determinationat once farcical and disconcertingto swallow the darn creatures. Depending on what strikes readers as funny, the illustrations may either delight or cause queasinessor both. By the end, the sailor burps everything up, and they all continue on their merry ways. The final spread depicts the sea creatures previously swallowed in the story and gives a sentence or two of child-friendly factual information on each. Though this type of backmatter is a common-enough feature in picture books, here following farce with fact feels a little odd and may serve to deflate the fun rather than enhance it. An aptly silly narrative and offbeat illustrations make this a successful new spin on an old classic. (Picture book. 3-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

PreS-Gr 1—This gorgeously illustrated tale is based on the song/story, "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," but it's about an old sailor who swallows common creatures from the deep, such as krill, a ray, a "jelly," a shark, a seal, and more, culminating with a whale. The lines of the story are predictable for children familiar with the song, but what makes this book stand out is the art. Allen has used gouache and pencils to create marvelous, colorful, page-filling depictions of the ocean creatures the sailor consumes, but more eye-catching is the sailor himself. His bushy beard and eyebrows, ruddy cheeks, expressive eyes, large arms, striped shirt, and sailor's cap all combine to make a most charming-looking sailor. The book concludes with a spread showing each of the ocean creatures swimming along, flanked by a brief fact about each one, e.g., "Krill are tiny critters. Five krill weigh about the same as one teaspoon of sugar!" This title is a worthy addition to any collection of variants of the original, but, more importantly, it might inspire children to come up with their own version of this tale after seeing what Saxby has created.—Maggie Chase, Boise State University, ID