School Library Journal Review
PreS-KIn a holiday version of a familiar children's song, an old lady swallows a dry Thanksgiving pie and a succession of other foods, beginning with an entire jug of cider to moisten the pie. Although the cider rumbles and grumbles agreeably inside her, the other foods are not related. The woman swallows a salad to go with a squash, a pot to go with a turkey, and a 10-layer cake to go with the pot. While no one can accuse the original "I Know an Old Lady" of making sense, the animals devoured increase in size each time and fit into a more-or-less logical food chain. Jackson's version is redeemed, however, by the fun of rhymes such as "Her future looked murky, after that turkey" and an ending that shows the old lady as a giant balloon in a Thanksgiving Parade as she finally says, "I'm full." Schachner's watercolor illustrations are absolutely delightful. Children will find lots to examine and enjoy in these expressive pictures, particularly the repeated appearances of the woman's fluffy white cat.Jackie Hechtkopf, Talent House School, Fairfax, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
The illustrations freshen up the old cumulative chestnut. "The old lady herself is a tour de force of visual slapstick," wrote PW. "Even the typography joins the fun." Ages 3-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
In a clever play on the favorite rhyme, an old lady grows bigger and bigger as she swallows whole the entire Thanksgiving meal, starting with the pie. Energetic drawings depict the old lady gleefully gorging herself to the amusement of two toddlers and the amazement and fury of their parents. In a fittingly outrageous ending, the old lady joins a holiday parade as a very merry and large balloon. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 4^-7. Jackson draws on some traditional Thanksgiving foods to give a familiar rhyme new zing. A hungry old lady invited to dinner by an unsuspecting family polishes off the pie she brought, then chugs a jug of cider to "moisten . . . the Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry. Perhaps she'll die." Her monstrous appetite unassuaged, she gulps squash, rolls, salad, turkey--all the makings of a holiday feast. The solution the family devises to be rid of their greedy guest is in perfect holiday spirit. Schachner's exuberant, cartoon-style illustrations are the best part of the book. They catch the comedy splendidly, showing not only the surprise and delight of the little girl as she watches the family's ravenous guest at work but also the concern and the shock of grown-ups caught by surprise. --Stephanie Zvirin