Our family is currently enjoying the world of Chester Cricket, Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat, as told by author George Selden. Selden has a long series of books about these lovable animals, the first is the most well known, The Cricket in Times Square and has received a Newbery Honor.
This book tells the story of Chester Cricket who finds himself misplaced to the subway station underneath Times Square in New York City. He meets up with Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat, who have already been friends for some time. Chester Cricket becomes the pet of the little boy who’s family owns the newsstand in the station. The story tells of some of the adventures of the animals and how one little cricket brings much joy to the hoards of people passing by the newsstand each day. The devotion and love that the characters show for each other is a joy to watch unfold.
The book is enhanced by the occasional drawings by Garth Williams. He also illustrated Charlotte’s Web, Stuart Little and the Little House books.
Both my 4 year old and 7 year old sons truly enjoyed this book. We looked forward to hearing about the animals’ adventures each day and the loyalty and honor shown by Chester Cricket sparked from fruitful discussions.
Lesser known, but no less great stories, are the sequels to this first one. We just finished Tucker’s Countryside in which Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat are summoned up to Chester’s Old Meadow in Connecticut to help him hatch a plan to save the meadow from destruction by builders. I enjoyed this story even more than the first, perhaps because of the subject, but also because the depth of the friendship between the animals is more complex and described in more detail. Living next to a meadow, this story hit home for my children and we found ourselves really rooting for the animals to come up with a brilliant plan. Here’s one of the best quotes from the book, and occurs just after the first day they animals witness a bulldozer, driven by 2 men, starting to dig the earth:
For a minute the hill seemed deserted. It wasn’t, however. Tucker Mouse and Chester Cricket crept out from the bushes where they’d been hiding. “Those men are nice,” said Tucker.
“Most people are,” said the cricket. “If they just get left alone. It’s when they all get together that they start doing stupid things– like digging up meadows!”
I could see this book being a springboard for some in depth learning about eco-systems, meadows, grasslands wildlife, and the effects of building in natural areas. It also tells about the neighborhood children setting up a picket to try to stop the building which could spark some learning about how little groups can influence change. As a family we’ll stop with Tucker’s Countryside as a read aloud, just to move on to something new. But my son will be continuing on in the series for his own summer reading. So if you read Cricket in Times Square, by all means, don’t stop there!
You can find the titles for the rest of the books in the series here. Also, be sure to check if your library has these on audio, they would be great to listen to in the car during vacation trips.
Cloudy with a Chance of Books 