There Was an Old Mummy Who Swallowed a Spider

Jennifer Ward is the author of numerous acclaimed books for children, including There Was an Old Monkey Who Swallowed a Frog, which was an IRA-CBC Children’s Choice and went on to become a bestselling Kindle book. Her recent titles include Mama Built a Little Nest, illustrated by Steve Jenkins, which received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Booklist; What Will Hatch?, illustrated by Susie Ghahremani; and There Was an Old Martian Who Swallowed the Moon, illustrated by Steve Gray. She lives in Illinois. Learn more at www.jenniferwardbooks.com.

“This book has something for everyone and is sure to be a hit in any children’s collection.” —School Library Journal“In [There Was an Old Mummy Who Swallowed a Spider], a bulgy-eyed mummy rises from its sarcophagus and proceeds to swallow a string of objects, animals, and people, including a spider, crow, bone, and witch. In increasingly frenetic cartoons, [Steve] Gray stages the debacle on the grounds of a quintessential haunted house, precariously perched in a tree over a graveyard. Full-spread scenes of the mummy chasing his victims alternate with glimpses of what’s going on in his belly—the swallowed creatures appear to be having a reasonably good time, simmering green witch’s brew over a campfire—which should make for some enjoyably silly Halloween reading.” —Publishers Weekly“Ward and Gray exchange the little old lady for an old mummy, and the book gets pleasantly goofy from there...For preschoolers who want a Halloween book that is more silly than scary.” —Kirkus Reviews“Cartoonish digital illustrations use lots of wide, fearful eyes and luminous backgrounds to make the graveyard and haunted-castle settings glow with Halloween anticipation.” —Horn Book Magazine