There Was an Old Bloke Who Swallowed a Chook, by P.Crumble & Louis Shea

There was an old bloke who swallowed a chook.
I don’t know why he swallowed that chook…
By cripes, that’s crook!

When the funny, bearded hero of this book swallows a chook it sets off a chain of eating adventures. Next he swallows a galah, to swoop the chook, followed by a possum, a wombat and more, until finally he swallows a ute – which he promptly belches out, along with all the animals. The final, wordless, spread shows the bloke taking all the animals for a ride in the ute.

This Aussie take on the well-known rhyme There was an old woman is lots of fun. Youngsters will enjoy the silliness of the old man and his dietary choices, with rhyme that scans well, allowing them to join in. The digital illustrations are bright and have lots of humorous details for kids to discover. The images of inside the man are pink-tinged but this is humorous rather than gory.

There Was an Old Bloke Who Swallowed a Chook is a fun offering for early childhood.

There Was an Old Bloke Who Swallowed a Chook

There Was an Old Bloke Who Swallowed a Chook, by P. Crumble and Louis Shea
Scholastic Australia, 2011
ISBN 9781741697872

This book is available from good bookstores, or online from Fishpond. Buying through this link supports Aussiereviews.