Promotion for Penguin Books

Peek through the holes in the pages to see what the odd farmer swallows in this favourite nursery rhyme with a pitch-perfect Kiwi twist!

Kiwi kids will love this favourite nursery rhyme with witty words by Peter Millett and hilarious illustrations by Paul Beavis – and a surprise twist at the end!

There was an odd farmer who swallowed a fly.
I dunno why she swallowed a fly —
it’s such weird kai.

Peek through the holes in the pages to see all the creatures inside the odd farmer! And what happens to them all at the end of the tale?

Expect a lot of belly laughs as you read this brilliant rhyming story aloud!

Reader review from Yasmin

There Was An Odd Farmer Who Swallowed A Fly, written by Peter Millett and illustrations by Paul Beavis.

The title is quite revealing about the book’s contents. It is a story about an Odd Farmer who swallowed a fly and all the other things she swallows to try and get rid of this fly. A special feature of this book is the little holes that show us inside her tummy and all the things she has swallowed so far.

My 18 month old daughter was mostly fascinated by these little holes and loved pointing at them and through them with her little fingers. My 6 year old son loved the growing absurdity with each page, the rhymes and the hilarious outcome at the end. There’s even a little bit of discussion that could be had about the ending with older kids too, as I read it to a class of 10 year olds as well. At first they thought it was too kiddy, but as soon as I read the first page, they were hooked.

The incorporation of simple te reo Māori was awesome as well as the Kiwi animals too! When I asked my son what those words meant, he was able to answer me and understood the words in context. We have had the book for about a week and have probably read it 5 times already.

Our family really enjoyed this book for a few different reasons. When I asked my son why he enjoyed it, he replied “I like the book because there’s a horse, doggy, a cow AND a kune! It’s funny, every time we don’t know why the farmer swallowed the fly.” My daughter can’t speak yet but the first chance she got, she took the book off to a corner and sat turning the pages and enjoying the pictures. As a parent, I enjoyed reading the book because of the rhyme and the rhythm in it. It was funny and the pages are a very thick cardstock so I am not worried about the kids ripping the pages as they turn them.

Overall I give this book 5 stars and would recommend it as a gift to children or teachers for age groups anywhere from 1 year old up to 10 years old. My children and students enjoyed it and I would read it again.

Don’t forget to visit Puffin Books for more great kids’ titles.

See more books:

• Matariki by Gavin Bishop | New Book
• A Bonanza of Bluey Books
• Abigail and the Making of the Moon | Book Review
• Willa and Woof 3: Grandparents for Hire | Book Review
• Get Outdoors: Brilliant Boredom Busters For Kiwi Kids | Book Review
• Have You Seen Tomorrow? | Book Review
• Roar Squeak Purr; A New Zealand Treasury of Animal Poems | Book Review
• Hairy Maclary and Friends How Do I Feel? | Book Review
• Pukeko Counts to 10 | Ka Tatau a Pukeko ki te 10
• Discover, or revisit, our Puffin Books of the Month from previous years!