Crickwing [Paperback]

Janell Cannon (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Crickwing never set out to be a bully--he wanted only to create his art in peace. But the little cockroach is an easy target for the bigger creatures in the forest. In his frustration he decides to even the score by bullying the leafcutter ants. They're just so easy to pick on.

Big mistake. Nobody angers the leafcutter queen and gets away with it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Janell Cannon, best-known for her award-winning picture books Stellaluna and Verdi, departs from the world of bats and snakes and turns her attention to... cockroaches. None of these are particularly cuddly creatures, but seen through Cannon's anthropomorphizing glasses, they are ones we can sympathize with. Crickwing, cruelly named for his twisted wing, is a lonely food stylist. He builds sculptures out of roots, leaves, and petals... and then eats them. But artistic serenity is not possible in the dangerous forest. The melancholy insect is constantly faced with cockroach-eating lizards, ocelots, and worse, food-stealing monkeys: "'Another masterpiece--ruined!' Crickwing panted. 'I'm starving and my wing aches. I don't know if I can take this much longer.'"

Bemoaning his fate as a "mere exoskeleton," Crickwing wakes up with thoughts of vengeance. As he watches thousands of leaf-cutting ants busy at work, he wonders, "Why isn't anyone bothering these little twerps?" He sticks his spiny leg out to trip one of them, and delights in taunting them further. Of course, the ants don't take this well. They swarm him, drag him into the dark corridors of their anthill, and bury him up to his neck--all the while whispering about how his mother must be heartbroken to have produced such an awful menace. Just as they are about to fork him over as their annual peace offering to the army ants, they have a crisis of conscience. "Nobody deserves that, not even this big bully," says one of the ants, and, risking the wrath of their queen, they release him and flee. Now it's Crickwing's turn to have a conscience. He races after the leafcutters with his creative plan to keep the warring army ants at bay. The story ends in a festive explosion of flower confetti, and a valuable lesson in compassion. The concluding "Cockroach Notes" and "Ant Notes" crawl with fascinating facts about our six-legged friends. (Ages 5 to 8) --Karin Snelson --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Tired of being bullied, an artistic cockroach with a crooked wing and a penchant for culinary sculpture ("I just like to play with my food") begins picking on creatures even smaller than himselfAleafcutter antsAand is taken prisoner by the colony. Crickwing is sentenced to be served up as a peace offering to the army ants, but a few brave rebels have a change of heart and set him free. The grateful (and penitent) cockroach repays their kindness and saves the colony by scaring off the army ants with his best sculpture everAa giant green anteater made of leaves. The tale ends with Crickwing joining the leafcutters as their chef; the celebration that follows includes flower confetti and dancing (the "six-step," naturally). Cannon (Verdi) works her picture book magic once again, producing an amusing tale lightly rooted in natural history (notes on cockroaches and ants follow the story). Reeling in her audience with saucy characters and an engaging plotline, she hooks them with her vibrant visuals. Whether depicting Crickwing creating an edible mouse from a root, leaves and berries, an ocelot peering at him as he hides under a stone or a herd of leafcutter ants falling into one his traps, Cannon's illustrations skillfully blur the line between fact and fancy, and add another feather to her well-decorated cap. Ages 6-9. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (May 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152050612
• ISBN-13: 978-0152050610
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 10.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #59 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Animals > Bugs & Spiders > Fiction

More About the Author

Janell Cannon's picture books have won many awards and are beloved around the world. Before she became a full-time creator of books for children, she designed and produced summer reading programs at her local public library. Born and raised in Minnesota, Ms. Cannon now lives in Southern California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Think twice before crunching that cockroach!, September 11, 2000

By 

Xeneri - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crickwing (Hardcover)

Janell Cannon has a gift for making the creepy critters lovable. In "Stellaluna" she made us identify with a lost bat; in "Verdi" she made us cheer for a snake who learns to shed his skin; but now she tackles the impossible: cockroaches!

Crickwing (so named because of a twisted wing) is a lonely cockroach. He spends his days as a "food-stylist", crafting sculptures of his food before eating them. But he and his sculptures are easy prey to lizards and other roach-eating critters.

Tired of being a victem, he decides he is going to pick on some smaller targets: ants! But the leaf-eating ants are not as harmless as they seem and they swarm Crickwing when his shenanigans go too far. Crickwing is not really the bully he seems, and when danger threatens both the ants and him, he becomes an unlikely hero! Vibrant and just as engaging as her previous books, though this one is more of a cheeky fable then fantasy. "Crickwing" just might make you think twice before stepping on a cockroach! A terrific companion piece for the award-winning author.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderful book, December 6, 2003

By 

Ann Zapata (Mounds, OK USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crickwing (Hardcover)

Another gem from Janell Cannon. More beautiful illustrations. This author is gifted enough to get us to fall in love with a cockroach! A great story with many life lessons tucked in along the way. I highly recommend it!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Unlikely Hero, July 24, 2002

By 

Cheryl Smith "former librarian" (Asheboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crickwing (Hardcover)

Children's literature lovers have long loved Stellaluna. Many elementary school teachers use it when they study bats at Halloween. But how unlikely is it to find that not only bats, and then a snake (Verdi), but now a cockroach is a children's book hero? One could not dislike Crickwing. He is handicapped by a broken and painful wing injury, and thus goes his way alone. He entertains himself by making sculptures of his food. After several difficult experiences with predators, Crickwing becomes perverse enough to torment the industrious ants he observes around him. Although their queen has the ants gang up on him, they prove to be his salvation, first by stretching out and repositioning his damaged wing, and then by becoming his friends. Crickwing is a true hero when he sculptures an anteater to scare away the army ants from his new friends, the ants. The iluustrations are lovely as ever. Don't miss this one.