Common Sense Note
This absorbing, often amusing tale showcases a traveling cricket with miraculous talent. Artwork in every chapter keeps developing readers onboard.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: S. K. List
George Selden creates an animal world (with distinctive animal personalities) within the familiar human world. Small and insignificant, Chester the cricket almost always knows his own mind and, more important, his self-worth. Selden effectively contrasts Chester's slight stature against the size and swirl of New York City and spins the tried-and-true tale of the outsider who confronts the big city.
Almost half a century old, THE CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE may inhabit a kinder, gentler Manhattan, but Selden still captures the city's essence. Kids encounter abundant urban attractions: unusual foods, colorful characters, busy street scenes, stimulating shops.
The target reader readily identifies with Mario, who seems about ten years old. One of the story's best features is Mario's freedom within the city. All alone, he staffs the newsstand late at night and rides the subway to shop in an unfamiliar district. If this seems strange to kids, they'll also find it empowering. One teen remembered his experience with this book fondly, for both its "creativity and the way the animals lived together in harmony."
Garth Williams's excellent drawings--bold in line, rich in detail, and one or two to a chapter--bring added warmth to the incidents and individuals.
For a classic take on the clever-animal chapter book, few books can beat E. B. White's Stuart Little. Kids who enjoyed Chester, Harry, and Tucker can find more of their adventures in Selden's Tucker's Countryside and Chester Cricket's New Home, among others.
From The Book
Chester's playing filled the station. Like ripples around a stone dropped into still water, the circles of silence spread out from the newsstand. And as the people listened, a change came over their faces. Eyes that looked worried grew soft and peaceful, tongues left off chattering, and ears full of the city's rustling were rested by the cricket's melody.
Plot Summary:
If I can make it there, I'll make it anywhere ... . And Chester Cricket does! The displaced country creature adapts to life in the Big Apple and becomes a success. He shows the universal struggles of immigrants in this delightful story, and Garth Williams's full-page, black-and-white illustrations help bring the tale to life.
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