Literature for Children / Literatura para Niños: There Was A Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow

A new twist on the familiar tale There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Lucille Colandro illustrated by Jared Lee is sure to capture the laughter of young readers.

This cold lady is swallowing everything that she thinks will keep her warm, from snow, to a pipe, some coal, a hat, and a whole lot more.

Although the readers could never figure out why she is swallowing these things when the cold lady hiccups it all makes sense. That's right, she hiccups it all and a lovely snowman appears.

This rhythmically charged book is complimented by exaggeration and funny illustrations that children are sure to love. The pictures are vibrantly colored yet set in a tone that gives a wintery feel and a combination of little lines and squiggles are used to form the many pictures and their details. Unlike many of the other spin offs the items the cold lady swallows have a natural flow or sequence. This technique lends itself well to lessons on predicting outcomes.

This is a great book to share with young readers however it is very necessary that adults make a clear distinction between fiction and non-fiction. Surely one does not want children swallowing random items.

Reader Response Questions

1. What came as a surprise in this book and why?

2. What do you think will happen next?

3. Do you think this story is fiction or nonfiction? Explain.

Motivational Activities

1. The children can work in groups to rewrite their own version of There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a ______. Once finished they can share it with the other groups without revealing the final outcome. Meanwhile the others can hypothesize, discuss and predict the outcome.

2. After reading several versions of this tale the students can compare and contrast the elements of two stories.

Lucille Colandro

Lucille is the author and illustrator of There was an Old Lady books, a journey that began when an editor asked her for a halloween book with an lady who didn't die at the end. Since then she has written nearly two dozen versions of the catchy tale.