Customer Reviews

The Cricket in Times Square

5 star:		(104)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a fun book. It's a nice book to read a chapter at a time as a bedtime book, because nothing particularly stressful or traumatic happens. The chapters are reasonable short and benign. There is tension, there is some drama, there are rich characters struggling with their individual challenges. But there aren't many chapters ending on cliffhangers that will leave young readers or listeners feeling unsettled.

The strength of the book is the warm friendship between a displaced country cricket, a scheming but kind-hearted urban rodent, and an unflappable feline. There is also the human protagonist, Mario, a young boy who labors in Grand Central Station at his parent's newsstand. Mario's family dynamic, with the passive dad and the hard-boiled, derisive mother, sets up a nice juxtaposition. We see the sweet sap of childhood innocence standing its ground against a well-meaning but distrustful adult world.

I bought this book to read to my kids because I remember loving it so much as a little kid myself, both the book and the filmstrip adaptation, which I believe I can picture myself watching in an overcrowded mobile home that was functioning as a second grade classroom.

There's one distressing flaw to the book, which I don't remember from my own childhood because I wouldn't have noticed or cared at the time, but there is a part of the book that takes place in China Town, where it feels as if the story gets a dose of 1950's borcht belt race humor. The wise old Chinese man's dialect is achieved by switching every `R' into an `L.' As is "Vely solly." Since I was reading it to my kids, I just improvised a little and avoided doing the accent, but if an older kid is reading the book for themselves it merits a discussion. A little social-historical context.

That aside, we had a great time reading this book. The part I am asked to reread is when Chester Cricket, while dreaming that he is home eating leaves, waked up and realizes he's half-chewed through a two dollar bill borrowed from the newsstand register. There's brief panic and then excited brain-storming with his mammalian accomplices. As always, some credit goes to my unsubtle vocal performance, and I'm sorry, you can't buy that at Amazon. But it is funny stuff.

The Cricket in Times Square is the first book in the series. It's about a cat named Harry, a mouse named Tucker, but it's mostly about a cricket named Chester. Chester lives in Connecticut. He was found by a lady who stuffs him in her purse. He gets carried all the way, to New York in a subway station. There's a family who sells newspapers in the subway station. And there's a boy who finds Chester and picks him up and buys a special golden cage with a bell that hangs down. Once Chester hears the bell he is able to sing. Then Chester has his own concert.

My favorite part is when Chester has his own little concert and he makes a lot of money because Chester makes beautiful music.

I would recommend this book and series to grade two to six because they are great fantasy stories about animals, but I would recommend them the most to people who like fantasy and animals.

By the way this book is the first book out of seven books. They're great books to read.

This book is about a cricket named Chester who finds his way to New York City in a picnic basket. Chester is originally from Connecticut. One day a little boy named Mario picks him up and takes him to an unsuccessful newstand located in the subway station of Times Square. This little creature is lucky enough to find two great friends. Their names are Tucker the fast talking broadway mouse, and his pal Harry the Cat. These friends have many great times such as; when Tucker manages to get the gang some scraps of food. But they also have some bad times, like when Chester dreams of a willow leaf, and eats a dollar bill, but all together they manage. These wonderful pals go on some more pretty great adventures, Chester even becomes a celebrity. Read the book to find out more!

This was a big hit with our three-and-a-half year old. It was the second chapter book I read aloud to him, and perfect for his age. As other reviewers have noted, the tense scenes are minimal, all the characters are appealing (although there is a bit of ethnic stereotyping), and the themes of friendship and loyalty are positive.

My 2nd grader and I listened to the audio book on a long drive, and then he read the book himself early in third grade. It is a quiet, slowly-unfolding story, with memorable characters, as well as a great tribute to "old" New York City. Characters include a very realistic Italian immigrant family who own a newsstand underground at a subway entrance, an elderly Chinese man, exotic to the young lead boy character, yet approachable and very kind, and a host of helpful and sometimes mischievous animal life that gets particularly busy when no humans are around, including of course, the cricket with a talent for opera singing.

My son and I are voracious readers, and we rate this evocative, tender, and imaginative story in our top 5 of all time, along with classics like Charlotte's Web.

This book gives you a warm feeling inside as you settle down to read this tale. It is a good rainy day book. The ending is somewhat, well different, but it doesn't leave you sad or hanging. I would recommend this book to other thirteen-year-olds. It is not way to easy, or overly difficult to read. I would actually reccomend it to ages 11-14. All in all it is a good beginning book for a series of entertainment.

It all started when Mario found his new best friend in a pile of dirt. He met Chester, Chester the cricket. Mario lives with mama and poppa, but they don't have a lot of money. They own a newsstand in Grand Central Station. Chester meets two other friends besides Mario. He meets Tucker, a mouse and Harry, a cat. Quickly these four learn a lot about each other and become best friends. The four friends work hard to bring success to Mario's newsstand. I think this book is great. When I was reading I couldn't put the book down because you never know what's going to happen next so you have to read on. I think many other people should read this book too. It so detailed so you can see every little part in the book happening in your head. This book is one of my favorite books I have every read in my whole entire life. There's nothing good missing in this book, it's great. I would most certainly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read. The four friends work hard to bring success to Mario's newsstand. Read the book to find out what happens in the end of this great, Newberry award winning book.

By:Jake Soffer

My 6.5 year old son was captivated by this story, and also by the fabulous reading by Rene Aubergenois. The voices are supurb, Harry Cat just as street smart as he could be, Tucker Mouse a real operator, and Chester...so sweet. The musical backgrounds as Chester sings are right on...a real listening experience! Great for a summer vacation car ride...you'll listen to it again and again. A good old fashioned story for kids of all ages!

I read The Cricket in Times Square and thought it was a fantastic book. I enjoyed the book because the author, George Selden, used good vocabulary words to describe his characters and settings. The story was easy to follow and fun to read.

The Cricket in Times Square is about a cricket named Chester. Chester lived in Connecticut. One day he smelled some food from a picnic and went over to investigate the smell. While sniffing, he got caught in a bag with sandwiches. The family eating the sandwiches got on a train to New York City. When he got to New York City, one of the main characters, Mario Bellini, found Chester outside. Chester was next to Mario's parent's newsstand so Mario picked him up and put him in a matchbox. While at the newsstand, Mario asked his mom if he could keep the cricket. After a few days Mario took Chester to buy a cage at a Chinese store. The cage was shaped like a Chinese building.

At the newsstand Chester met a mouse named Tucker and a cat named Harry. Chester became good friends with them. Chester became a very famous cricket and played his beautiful music at 8:00AM and 4:30PM for all the people at the newsstand.

If you want more details about Chester's exciting adventures, read this book or other books by George Selden! I hope this review makes you want to read The Cricket in Times Square, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

This book is the best adventurest book I've ever read. There are three little friends named Harry,Tucker,and Chester. A cat,mouse,and a cricket. There are a few reasons why I like this book. The characters are very interesting. I would love to read this book again. Chester cricket came from Connecticut. He never intened to leave,it just happened. He met two friends named Harry and Tucker evrn a little boy named Mario.Tucker and Harry taught Chester a few tricks in the city but Chester a little country cricket taught them a few to.My favorite part was the end because chester left everyone was so upset they didn't know why he left I was also wondering why did he leave. Maybe he felt homesick. I don't know about you but I definatly loved this book.