Review by Booklist Review
In a funny play on a traditional cumulative rhyme, a monster swallows a tick ( I don't know why / he swallowed the tick / 'cause it made him feel sick ); then he swallows some ants that have him dancing in his pants ( scritchy-scratch ); and the rhyme builds up and repeats as more creatures get swallowed, including a lizard, jackal, and bear ( You should have been there ), until a lion ends it all. The cut-paper collage artwork is bright and lively, with lots of purple and orange against black. What preschoolers will enjoy most is acting out the animals' movements and the text's repetitive chants, and they will want to sing along with the tune, which can be downloaded from the publisher's Web site.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Another Emberley gets into the book-creating act with this takeoff on the cumulative song, "There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly," which features jaunty rhymes yet an intermittently bumpy rhythm. Songwriter Adrian, Rebecca's daughter and Ed's granddaughter, collaborated on the music (the song will be available for download from Scholastic's Web site). The splotchy purple monster's initial snack-a tick-doesn't agree with him ("I don't know why/ he swallowed the tick/ 'cause it made him feel sick"), and the ants he ingests to catch the tick "had him dancing in his pants." After downing a lizard, bat, jackal and bear, the monster feels "like he was dyin'," so he tries to swallow a lion-an attempt that doesn't end well. Stylized computer-scanned collage art amplifies the narrative's inanity, portraying the monster (and the accumulating contents of his belly) with electric hues against a black background. Timid readers may find the wild-eyed monster and sharp-toothed lion scary, but most will hone their sense of schadenfreude on the creature's exaggerated discomfort and find this creepy, crawly fun. Ages 3-5. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-In a retelling of the classic cumulative tune "I Know an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly," a googly-eyed purple monster consumes a panoply of colorful critters (ants, a tick, a lizard, a bat, a jackal, a bear) until he meets his match-and end-in a lion. The neon-bright artwork on jet black backgrounds pops off the pages as the monster and his wriggly comestibles whirl across the spreads. The Emberleys invite readers into the action by depicting the monster's ever-expanding stomach with its jam-packed contents in a ploy sure to elicit lots of delighted grimaces from children. Individual readers will pore over the illustrations and enjoy the repetition in the text while the large pictures make this a natural to share with groups. With the song provided as a free download at the publisher's Web site, this jazzy crowd-pleaser will have kids begging for repeat reads.-Marge Loch-Wouters, La Crosse Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Three generations collaborated to create this catchy spin on the storytime classic. This particular monstera speckled purple critter with horns, claws and a natty green skirt positioned against a black backgroundswallows (ugh) a tick, quickly followed by ants ("scritchy-scratch, / scritch, scratchy scratch"), a lizard, a bat, a jackal ("I swear I heard him cackle") and a bear. The contents of the distressed monster's ever-expanding belly are visible throughoutno wonder "he STILL felt sick." Written by Rebecca Emberley, illustrated in eye-popping Technicolor by the author and her father, Ed Emberley, and set to music by the author's daughter, Adrian Emberley (available for download from Scholastic's website), this agreeably stomach-turning tune will doubtless see heavy storytime action. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
