There Was an Old Mummy Who Swallowed a Spider

PreS-Gr 2—A new play on the familiar song. In her latest picture book foray, in addition to a spider, Ward's mummy swallows a rat, a crow, a bone from a skeleton, some brew, a witch, and a ghost. In the end, "There was an old mummy—/this story is true./You'd better look out,/or he'll swallow…YOU, too!" Gray's bold illustrations in shades of pink, black, and night-sky blue are wonderfully humorous with a bit of a scare for the younger crowed. The different characters depicted are quirky, many with googly eyes. This is a great tale for Halloween storytimes because of its large trim size and drawings that leap right off the page. It could also be used in primary classes for comparing and contrasting with similarly themed books. Older children can peruse the tombstones for the funny rhymes, such as "Milton Hyde—we put him here because he died."