There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Fly Guy

Fly Guy #4

by Tedd Arnold

The fourth book in a humorous, easy-to-read series about a boy and his pet fly! Each book in the series has a fun foil cover!

Buzz is visiting Grandma, and Fly Guy comes along for the ride. Oops! Grandma swallows Fly Guy, then a spider, then a bird, then a cat, then a dog. . . .She's about to swallow a horse, when Fly Guy shouts: "BUZZZ!" Buzz is starting to worry, but there is nothing Fly Guy can't handle! He flies out, and all the critters follow. And everybody parties!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Animals, Fantasy, Friendship

30 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Tedd grew up with three brothers. His family lived on a farm in Pennsylvania for several years then returned to Elmira until Tedd was ten years old. His father's work then required that they move to Gainesville, Florida. There, Tedd's first art lessons in an abandoned dentist's office over the Happy Hour pool hall eventually led to a fine arts degree from the University of Florida.

He and his wife, Carol, started their family in Tallahassee where Tedd worked as a commercial illustrator. Carol, a kindergarten teacher, drew Tedd's attention to children's books. Their first son, Walter, inspired his breakthrough picture book, NO JUMPING ON THE BED!.

He and his family now live in Elmira. His second son, William, now stars in NO MORE WATER IN THE TUB!, a sequel to his first book. He has now published over 50 books as author and illustrator.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buzz and Fly Guy are at it again... in another fun story. When Buzz brings his pet along to meet Grandma, Fly Guy is quite pleased. However, Grandma ends up swallowing him in the first minutes and proceeds to swallow a number of other things, which only adds to the chaos (and shows that this woman can down farm animals without activating her gag reflex). As Fly Guy and Buzz get a little worried, the latter coaxes his pet out of Grandma's stomach, soon followed by all sorts of animals. Neo is not entirely sure he knows the ditty about a woman who swallowed a fly, so perhaps I ought to find it and we can recite it together. Any ideas how to discuss her super-human eating abilities, folks?

[Farideh · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I were a child, I might like it, but now it wasn't interesting for me :)

[Makayla Adams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course I’m adding this lovely book I read to my nephew! He enjoyed it!

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another early reader book made better by the young learner reading it to me. Even as a kid I was too logical for the Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly bit (I couldn't tolerate Amelia Bedelia either), but today I appreciated how the rhythm encouraged fluency with the student.

All that said, Tedd Arnold's Fly Guy series is very popular in my first grade cooperating classroom. The fiction books are entertaining for the kids and provide practice with familiar words.

[Afnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

a little fun

[Noorulhuda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is was a nice story because it is funny. I like the pictures and helps me to understand the story.

However,this story is fictional, and I do not like the fictonal stories.

[Gary Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

My six-year-old son and I love Buzz and Fly Guy! And this was another fun adventure, even if it stretched credulity to the breaking point (of course, a kid having a pet fly requires a certain suspension of disbelief!). The page with Grandma looking queasy and Buzz with a tear on his cheek was a heartbreaking page for both my son and me. It taught empathy for a rather one-dimensional character but one the reader can relate to in that Buzz cares a lot for his pet/friend Fly Guy and fears he's lost him. How quickly a joyous reunion with Grandma took an ugly turn, and that page succeeded in evoking emotion. Yeah, all's well in the end--and even my son thought it got silly around the time the cat and dog made the dive down Grandma's gullet--but it was fun reading and re-reading, as we did about four times before it was due back at the school library.

[Jane McCarville · Rating 5 out of 5]

This funny and engaging story is a cumulative tale about a boy named Buzz who visits his grandma with his pet fly, named Fly Guy. His grandma accidentally swallows Fly Guy, and then swallows a spider, a bird, a cat, a dog, a goat, and a cow, all in an attempt to catch the previous creature.

Teachable ideas for children are sequencing and retelling of the story to practice sequencing skills. Students can retell the story, either orally or in writing, using picture cards or a sentence strip. Discuss how the story builds on itself, repeating previous items as new ones are added. Introduce vocabulary related to the animals in the story, such as "spider," "bird," "cat," etc. Discuss the characters' actions and motivations. Why did the grandma swallow the fly? Why did Fly Guy shout? Discuss how one small problem became a big problem when not taking care of the small problem in the first place.

[Kennady · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buzz had a pet fly named Fly Guy. When he went to visit his grandma, she accidentally swallowed him. Grandma then swallowed a spider to get the fly, then a bird to get the spider, then a cat to get the bird, then a dog to get the cat, then a goat to get the dog, then a cow to get the goat. She then was about to swallow a horse to get the cow. Buzz then looked down his grandma throat and yelled Fly Guy and he came out, then out came the rest of them.

I gave this book 3 stars, I thought that it was an okay book. I thought that it could've used more to the story. Other than that I thought that the illustrations were good.

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Miss is really enjoying the Fly Guy series of books and will have a go at some of the often repeated words like "fly guy" and "buzz". She likes the often slightly gross pictures of what Fly Guy likes to eat. This edition is a fun take on the classic poem as the illustrations are from FG's p.o.v. inside the increasingly crowded stomach!

Miss 5 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.

[Elisabeth Piede · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buzz was going to greet his grandma. His grandma went to greet him, too. Grandma swallowed Fly Guy.
Then Grandma swallowed a lot of animals to catch the animal she just swallowed. She was about to swallow a horse but Buzz stopped her.
Then she spit out all of the animals and Fly Guy and Buzz went home.

I would recommend this book because I like Fly Guy books. They are interesting.

6 yo review

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buzz's Grandma accidentally swallows Fly Guy in her exuberant hello to her grandson, and then proceeds to send down a wild assortment of animals to try and retrieve him, but Fly Guy may have an easier solution.

This definitely points out the biggest question in the whole old lady swallowing a fly sequence...why did she send an array of animals in and not just open her mouth and let the fly have a chance to fly out. I love how Arnold has Buzz looking at his Grandma, and the inside perspective for most of the drama lends to the ridiculousness and comedy.

[Kelley Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the Fly Guy series. They are easy enough for independent read aloud by emergent readers. Humor often gets lost on these very early readers because they are working so hard on decoding, but the humor is underlined so well by the illustrations that kiddos giggle the whole way through - read aloud or read independently. With Willems it is one of the few easy readers that hold up to read aloud without sounding overly simplistic.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one made me a little nauseus. Which means your kid may find it hilarious.

This mostly doesn't rhyme, but it does follow the plot of the song. Buzz's grandma accidently swallows Fly Guy, who, being a fly, is interested in the contents of her stomach. Then she swallows a spider to catch Fly Guy, then she swallows a bird to catch the spider, etc. Her insides are drawn cartoony but not abstract, and it's just real enough that it made me gag. Don't worry, everyone gets out okay. Somehow.

[Brianna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose this book because I think it is an easy reader for younger children who are somewhat good at reading and are wanting to get into more chapter books. I like this because it is a whimsical book and I think this can be god for any boy or girl to keep them hooked in the story. There is pictures to go with the story to look at and relate to the story and I like that.

[Courtney Umlauf · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's all fun and games until someone (namely Fly Guy) gets swallowed by Grandma!

This is a fun series for any beginning reader.

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[The Book Box]

I loved this one because I love Fly Guy, and I've read so many of the "There Was an Old Lady" books by Lucille Colandro - but which came first? Hers, or Fly Guy? Because I noticed that Buzz's grandma looked like the Old Lady!

[Grace Cotton · Rating 3 out of 5]

category- Tedd Arnold project
Tedd Arnold has many children's books that make children laugh. His pictures are engaging and comical as well. Most of the activities are generic and students may be able to relate.

[Andi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Barely different from...

The original book. It was a good thought that wasn't executed effectively. Granted I am an adult but I'm a teacher looking for books to engage 2nd grade students.

[Allyson Goose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute idea, but the story didn’t make much sense. To be fair, though, neither does the song the book is based on. Photos of inside of stomach were a little gross for me. Sparkly cover is appealing. My 2nd grader, who loves Fly Guy, liked this a lot.

[Seth · Rating 4 out of 5]

it's nice to see easy readers that aren't stupid and meaningless sentences. the stories of fly guy are weird and entertaining for little people (and big people reading stories to their little people relatives).

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

Buzz's Grandma accidentally swallows Fly Guy. We get to see the contents of her stomach. Disgusting. Then you see from the inside everything else she swallows to catch the previous thing she swallowed. So that's a creative and different take.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this version of there was an old lady who swallowed a fly. I thought that the author did a good job on changing it up a little with the story. My first graders liked this version of the story. This is also an AR book for anyone who might want to know. I would recommend this book to others.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

best book ever

[Anna - Kids · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the humour in this one

[Zachariah Holland · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was a ok book. I read it to my baby sister and she loved it!she keep on saying "wing Guy fly lady"
so cute LOL:)

[Lucy Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Wing Guy Fly"

[Kathy (Kindle-aholic) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute combo of the Old Lady story and Fly Guy.

[Tricia Gleason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute version of the old tale There Was An Old Lady Wbo Swallowed a Fly. ps. Our hero does not perish - it has a happy ending!

[Jc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great Fly Guy story that will make you laugh out loud.