is a wonderful story of friendship between a cricket, a mouse, a cat, and the boy who takes care of the cricket. Chester Cricket finds his way to New York in a picnic basket and Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse help him settle in to life in New York's Time Square. Mario, the son of newsstand owners struggles to find a way to keep Chester healthy and to get Mama and Papa to allow him to keep Chester in the newsstand.Harry and Tucker involve Chester in a variety of adventures that cause friction with Mario's family. Eventually Mama and Papa almost loose the newsstand when a party causes a fire. Chester feeling horribly guilty begins to chirp out music he learned during the party and draws a crowd who begin to buy papers from Mama and Papa's failing newsstand. While Chester enjoys helping save the business, eventually like all wild creatures, he longs to return home. The end has Chester making a choice about returning home and Mario dealing with the choice his friend makes for freedom.
This is the first in a series of books Selden wrote about these characters. While not all of them are currently in print, most are available at your local library if you wish to read more of their adventures.
Free Curriculum Links:
Columbus State University Unit Plan
Cricket Cubes
Cricket in Times Square Interactives
Literature Guide
Macmillan Teacher's Guide
Questions, English Lessons, Activities
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