Synopses & Reviews
Chester Cricket--the famous cricket in Times Square--is homesick. When his friend Mario takes him to a sky show at the Planetarium, Chester realizes how much he misses seeing real stars at night.
Happily, he finds his way out of the subway into Times Square, where he meets a new friend, Lulu Pigeon. Lulu takes him on a trip beyond his wildest dreams. From Central Park to the top of the Empire State Building, from the Statue of Liberty and back to Times Square, Chester sees Manhattan in style--and even finds a little bit of country in the city!
Review
"Chester, a country cricket who misses stargazing during his stay in the city, takes a breathtaking ride with new friend Lulu Pigeon over New York. Descriptions of Central Park and Times Square are evocative . . . Full-page pen-and-ink drawings are panoramic and most vibrant when depicting the familiar Chester, Harry Cat, and Tucker."--
Booklist"Thoughtful but unpretentious, humorous without more cleverness, this is nothing less than a good story, well told and sympathetically illustrated."--School Library Journal
"Williams's big, breathtaking pen-and-ink drawings almost steal the show from the author."--Publisher's Weekly
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About the Author
George Selden (1929-1989) was the author of
A Cricket in Times Square, winner of the 1961 Newbery Honor and a timeless childrens classic. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Selden received his B.A. from Yale, where he was a member of the Elizabethan Club and contributed to the literary magazine. He spent three summer sessions at Columbia University and, after college, studied for a year in Rome on a Fulbright Scholarship. People often asked Selden how he got the idea for
The Cricket in Times Square. “One night I was coming home on the subway, and I did hear a cricket chirp in the Times Square subway station. The story formed in my mind within minutes. An author is very thankful for minutes like those, although they happen all too infrequently.” The popular
Cricket series grew to seven titles, including
Tucker's Countryside and
The Old Meadow. In 1973,
The Cricket in Times Square was made into an animated film. Selden wrote more than fifteen books, as well as two plays. His storytelling blends the marvelous with the commonplace realities of life, and it was essential to him that his animal characters display true emotions and feelings. Selden lived in New York City until his death in December 1989. He enjoyed music, archaeology, and J.R.R. Tolkien. His editor, Stephen Roxburgh, said, "Chester Cricket, Harry Cat, Tucker Mouse, and their friends celebrate the triumph of innocence and camaraderie over cynicism and selfishness. George Selden is gone, but his voice lives on in Chester Cricket's song."
Garth Williams illustrated all seven of the Chester Cricket books and many other distinguished works, including Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.