What reading level is the There Was an Old Lady series?

The There Was an Old Lady series by Lucille Colandro is at a Grades 2.1–3.8 reading level (average Grade 2.6). Intended for Lower Grades (Ages 5–8). There are 22 books in the series.

What order should I read the There Was an Old Lady books?

The There Was an Old Lady series has 22 books in order: 1. There was a cold lady who swallowed some snow!, 2. There was an old astronaut who swallowed the moon!, 3. There Was an Old Lady, 4. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!, 5. There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Birthday Cake!, and 17 more.

What age is the There Was an Old Lady series appropriate for?

The There Was an Old Lady series is recommended for Lower Grades (Ages 5–8). The average content intensity is 1/5.

There Was an Old Lady Books in Order

22 books by Lucille Colandro. Reading level: Grades 2.1–3.8. Lower Grades (Ages 5–8).

Series books grow with readers — but that's also the trap. Most series start at one reading level and one content intensity and drift upward over the course of the run. There Was an Old Lady (22 books by Lucille Colandro) lands at reading level Grades 2.1–3.8, with average content intensity 1/5. Intensity stays consistent across the series — a kid who can handle the first book can generally handle the rest.

The reading-order table below lists every book with per-volume reading level and intensity badges so you can spot any escalation before it catches your reader off guard. For a deeper dive into how we score text difficulty vs. emotional weight separately — and why series readers especially benefit from that split — see our methodology page.

Books

Grades 2.1–3.8

Reading Level

1/5

Avg. Intensity

Lower Grades

Content Intensity Across the Series

Consistent

Content stays at a steady intensity level throughout the series.

First book Latest book

There Was an Old Lady Reading Order

#	Title	Reading Level	Content
1	There was a cold lady who swallowed some snow! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
2	There was an old astronaut who swallowed the moon! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
3	There Was an Old Lady Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
4	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
5	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Birthday Cake! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
6	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cactus! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
7	There was an old lady who swallowed a chick! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
8	There was an old lady who swallowed a clover! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
9	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cow Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
10	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dragon! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
11	There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
12	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Frog! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
13	There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Ghost! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
14	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rainbow! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
15	There was an old lady who swallowed a rose! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
16	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Spoon Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
17	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Truck Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
18	There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Worm! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
19	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books Lucille Colandro, Jared D. Lee	Level 2-3	Gentle
20	There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves! Lucille Colandro	Level 2-3	Gentle
21	There was an old mermaid who swallowed a shark! Lucille Colandro	Level 3-4	Gentle
22	There Was An Old Pirate Who Swallowed A Map! Lucille Colandro	Level 3-4	Gentle

All There Was an Old Lady Books

There was a cold lady who swallowed some snow!

Lucille Colandro

There was a cold lady who swallowed some snow!

Lucille Colandro

Level 2-3

There was an old astronaut who swallowed the moon!

Lucille Colandro

There was an old astronaut who swallowed the moon!

Lucille Colandro

There Was an Old Lady Books in Order

Content Intensity Across the Series

There Was an Old Lady Reading Order

All There Was an Old Lady Books

There was a cold lady who swallowed some snow!

There was an old astronaut who swallowed the moon!

There Was an Old Lady

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Birthday Cake!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cactus!

There was an old lady who swallowed a chick!

There was an old lady who swallowed a clover!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Cow

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Dragon!

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Frog!

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Ghost!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rainbow!

There was an old lady who swallowed a rose!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Spoon

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Truck

There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Worm!

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Books

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves!

There was an old mermaid who swallowed a shark!

There Was An Old Pirate Who Swallowed A Map!

Questions about the There Was an Old Lady series