There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Bugs by Johnette Downing

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Bugs by Johnette Downing

Johnette Downing is a true Louisiana artist. She sings and plays music; she paints; and she loves great Louisiana food. I fell in love with her work a few years ago when she sang 'Today Is Monday in Louisiana' on my PBS television series. Kudos to Johnette on another great work.--Chef John Folse

New Orleans singer-songwriter-author Johnette Downing has done it again--taken a familiar story and made it her own. This time, it's There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. With Downing's touch, the last line of each passage has been softened a bit to something a little less frightening for small readers. Another entertaining read for young ones. --Judy Bergeron, Baton Rouge Advocate

Johnette Downing knows the child's mind and the child's heart deeply. Her reshaping of the classic tale and her striking illustrations are documentation of her brilliant visitations into those places where the child's imagination resides. --Darrell Bourque, Louisiana poet laureate 2009-11

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly. And so begins this fun and flavorful twist to the familiar tale of one very hungry old lady with a taste for bugs. Gulping down insects, the old lady soon fills her belly with a spider, slug, ant, flea, and others. Vibrant collage-style illustrations accompany the rhythmic verse of this wiggly, jiggly, creepy-crawly story with a surprise for dessert!

Johnette Downing is a multi-award-winning, internationally recognized singer, songwriter, and author. Her many accolades include eight Parents' Choice Awards, two Parent's Guide to Children's Media Awards, five National Parenting Publications Awards, four iParenting Media Awards, a Family Choice Award, and three Family Review Center Awards. Downing and her husband, Scott Billington, reside in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Johnette Downing is a multi-award winning musician and author who serves up a gumbo of Louisiana roots music and books in a toe-tapping, two-stepping good time for children across the globe. In addition to working with children, she presents keynotes and workshops for educators globally. Dedicated to celebrating childhood, nurturing cultural exchanges, and fostering literacy through her music and books, Downing has performed in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, Central America, North America and the Caribbean. Her presentations speak to a child's interests in an engaging, interactive, thought-provoking, educational, entertaining and culturally respectful way; earning her a reputation for being the Musical Ambassador to Children and the Pied Piper of Louisiana Music Traditions.

A Governor of the Recording Academy's Memphis Chapter, Downing has garnered a long list of awards for her writing including a 2017 Louisiana Writer Award. Her work has received rave reviews online and in print including on Grammy.com and in Nick Jr. Magazine, Family Fun Magazine, Parenting Magazine, Parent's Magazine, Publisher's Weekly, American Library Association's Booklist, School Library Journal, Washington Post, Early Childhood News, Cookie Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Daily News, New Orleans Magazine, and Big Apple Parent. She was selected as one of The Women of the Year 2008 by New Orleans CityBusiness Magazine, Thirty People to Watch in 2000 by New Orleans Magazine and Forty Under Forty by Gambit Weekly Magazine.