Some of you may remember an old folk-rhyming-tale called There was an old Lady who swallowed a Fly, where an old lady swallows insect and animal one after the other in order to kill the last thing she just ate, which unfortunately leads to a tragic ending. Still, as a child reading the verse out loud and finding out which insect of animal the old lady would gobble down next was exciting and enjoyable to read. For future generations however, a new book much similar to There was an old Lady has been released for young children to enjoy, which has even been made into a song and performed by the author’s daughter.
There was an old Monster, co-created by Rebecca, Adrian and Ed Emberley, follows a similar story line of a monster who decides to eat what he believed would eat the thing he last ate himself. Like the old lady, the monster goes too far in his eating escapade that nothing good comes out of it.
The Monster who swallowed everything
Firstly, the reader is introduced to a colorful monster that swallows a tick. The narrator doesn’t know why he swallows the tick, but they do know that it makes the monster feel sick. Hoping to get rid of the tick, the monster then decides to eat some ants. Here the difference between the two stories differs because suddenly you come across a sing-along verse of “Scritchy-scratch, scritch, Scritchy-scratch, scritch …” as the monster dances around with ants in his pants. Following the ants he chooses to eat the following creatures: a lizard to eat the ants; a bat to catch the lizard; a jackal to catch the bat; a bear to catch the jackel; and just as he felt like he was dying, the monster chooses to eat a lion. Unfortunately the lion eats the monster and all the animals inside him. Therefore the end of the story is that, much like the old lady who swallowed a fly, the monster dies as well.
Bold and beautiful Illustrations
Both Rebecca and Ed Emberley are referenced as the illustrators of There was an Old Monster. The father-daughter couple has captured a wacky, techno-coloured and jagged set of characters for any child to sit down and gawp over. Even I felt a little intimidated by the bold colours and mix-matched shapes. With all the ants floating around the page, you also start to feel ‘scritchy’ and ‘scratchy’ along with the monster. The illustrations are bold and fun and make the book more exciting to read. Each character is illustrated in its own unique way, and even though their colours contrast, with a black back-drop they all stand out as if they have personalities of their own.
There was an Old Monster - The Song
Not only can you read There was an Old Monster', but you can sing-along to it as well! Adrian Emberley, daughter of the Rebecca Emberley, and grand-daughter of Ed Emberley , is a performing songwriter who lives in Boston, Massachusetts. On the scholastic website you can download your own version of the sing to listen to as you read the book. The song follows a beat-poetry rhythm which is quite catchy. The pace is slow enough for children to follow and sing along to as well. Over all There was an old Monster is an entertaining picture book to flip through and a hip new version of ‘The old lady that swallowed a fly’. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to give their child a new and exciting book to read.
There Was an Old Monster by Rebbeca, Adrian and Ed Emberley
Orchard Books (2009)
ISBN: 978-0545101455
Linda Robertson - Linda is currently finishing her under-graduate degree as an English Major at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Linda dreams of one ...
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