The Cricket in Times Square (Chester Cricket Series)
149
The Cricket in Times Square (Chester Cricket Series)
149Paperback
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780440415633 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Random House Children's Books |
| Publication date: | 01/28/1970 |
| Series: | Chester Cricket and His Friends Series |
| Pages: | 149 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.25(w) x 7.60(h) x 0.42(d) |
| Lexile: | 780L (what's this?) |
| Age Range: | 8 - 12 Years |
About the Author
George Selden (1929-1989) was the author of The Cricket in Times Square, winner of the 1961 Newbery Honor and a timeless children's 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 (1912-1996) 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.
Read an Excerpt
A mouse was looking at Mario. The mouse’s name was Tucker, and he was sitting in the opening of an abandoned drain pipe in the subway station at Times Square. The drain pipe was his home. Back a few feet in the wall, it had opened out into a pocket that Tucker had filled with the bits of paper and shreds of cloth he collected. And when he wasn’t collecting, “scrounging” as he called it, or sleeping, he liked to sit at the opening of the drain pipe and watch the world go by–at least as much of the world as hurried through the Times Square subway station.
Tucker finished the last few crumbs of a cookie he was eating–a Lorna Doone shortbread he had found earlier in the evening–and licked off his whiskers. “ Such a pity,” he sighed.
Every Saturday night now for almost a year he had watched Mario tending his father’s newsstand. On weekdays, of course, the boy had to get to bed early, but over the weekends Papa Bellini let him take his part in helping out with the family business. Far into the night Mario waited. Papa hoped that by staying open as late as possible his newsstand might get some of the business that would otherwise have gone to the larger stands. But there wasn’t much business tonight.
“The poor kid might as well go home,” murmured Tucker Mouse to himself. He looked around the station.
The bustle of the day had long since subsided, and even the nighttime crowds, returning from the theaters and movies had vanished. Now and then a person or two would come down one of the many stairs that led from the street and dart through the station. But at this hour everyone was in a hurry to get to bed. On the lower level the trains were running much less often. There would be a long stretch of silence; then the mounting roar as a string of cars approached Times Square; then a pause while it let off old passengers and took on new ones; and finally the rush of sound as it disappeared up the dark tunnel. And the hush fell again. There was emptiness in the air. The whole station seemed to be waiting for the crowds of people it needed.
Tucker Mouse looked back at Mario. He was sitting on a three-legged stool behind the counter of the newsstand. In front of him all the magazines and newspapers were displayed as neatly as he knew how to make them. Papa Bellini had made the newsstand himself many years ago. The space inside was big enough for Mario, but Mama and Papa were cramped when they each took their turn. A shelf ran along one side, and on it were a little secondhand radio, a box of Kleenex (for Mama’s hay fever), a box of kitchen matches (for lighting Papa’s pipe), a cash register (for money — which there wasn’t much of), and an alarm clock (for no good reason at all). The cash register had one drawer, which was always open. It had gotten stuck once, with all the money the Bellinis had in the world inside it, so Papa decided it would be safer never to shut it again. When the stand was closed for the night, the money that was left there to start off the new day was perfectly safe, because Papa had also made a big wooden cover, with a lock, that fitted over the whole thing.
Mario had been listening to the radio. He switched it off. Way down the tracks he could see the lights of the shuttle train coming towards him. On the level of the station where the newsstand was, the only tracks were the ones on which the shuttle ran. That was a short train that went back and forth from Times Square to Grand Central, taking people from the subways on the east side of New York City over to the lines on the west. Mario knew most of the conductors on the shuttle. They all liked him and came over to talk between trips.
The train screeched to a stop beside the newsstand, blowing a gust of hot air in front of it. Only nine or ten people got out. Tucker watched anxiously to see if any of them stopped to buy a paper.
“All late papers!” shouted Mario as they hurried by. “Magazines!”
No one stopped. Hardly anyone even looked at him. Mario sank back on his stool. All evening long he had only sold fifteen papers and four magazines. In the drain pipe Tucker Mouse, who had been keeping count too, sighed and scratched his ear.
Mario’s friend Paul, a conductor on the shuttle, came over to the stand. “Any luck?” he asked.
“No,” said Mario. “Maybe on the next train.”
“There’s going to be less and less until morning,” said Paul.
Mario rested his chin on the palm of his hand. “ I can’t understand it,” he said. “It’s Saturday night. Even the Sunday papers aren’t going.”
Paul leaned up against the newsstand. “You’re up awfully late tonight,” he said.
“Well, I can sleep on Sundays,” said Mario. “ Besides, school’s out now. Mama and Papa are picking me up on the way home. They went to visit some friends. Saturday’s the only chance they have.”
Over a loud speaker came a voice saying, “Next train for Grand Central, track two.”
“ Night, Mario,” Paul said. He started off toward the shuttle. Then he stopped, reached in his pocket and flipped a half dollar over the counter. Mario caught the big coin. “I’ll take a Sunday Times.” Paul said, and picked up the newspaper.
“Hey wait!” Mario called after him. “ It’s only twenty-five cents. You’ve got a quarter coming.”
But Paul was already in the car. The door slid closed. He smiled and waved through the window. With a lurch the train moved off, its lights glimmering away through the darkness.
Tucker Mouse smiled too. He liked Paul. In fact he liked anybody who was nice to Mario. But it was late now: time to crawl back to his comfortable niche in the wall and go to sleep. Even a mouse who lives in the subway station in Times Square has to sleep sometimes. And Tucker had a big day planned for tomorrow, collecting things for his home and snapping up bits of food that fell from the lunch counters all over the station. He was just about to turn into the drain pipe when he heard a very strange sound.
Now Tucker Mouse had heard almost all the sounds that can be heard in New York City. He had heard the rumble of subway trains and the shriek their iron wheels make when they go around a corner. From above, through the iron grills that open onto the streets, he had heard the thrumming of the rubber tires of automobiles, and the hooting of their horns, and the howling of their brakes. And he had heard the babble of voices when the station was full of human beings, and the barking of the dogs that some of them had on leashes. Birds, the pigeons of New York, and cats, and even the high purring of airplanes above the city Tucker had heard. But in all his days, and on all his journeys through the greatest city in the world, Tucker had never heard a sound quite like this one.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Table of Contents
Contents
Title Page,Copyright Notice,
ONE: Tucker,
TWO: Mario,
THREE: Chester,
FOUR: Harry Cat,
FIVE: Sunday Morning,
SIX: Sai Fong,
SEVEN: The Cricket Cage,
EIGHT: Tucker's Life's Savings,
NINE: The Chinese Dinner,
TEN: The Dinner Party,
ELEVEN: The Jinx,
TWELVE: Mr. Smedley,
THIRTEEN: Fame,
FOURTEEN: Orpheus,
FIFTEEN: Grand Central Station,
Copyright,
Reading Group Guide
What makes a book last for fifty years? This is one of the topics we offer for discussion with your students. You'll know the answer to that question—as far as The Cricket in Times Square is concerned—by the time you've read the first chapter. This classic work of children's literature touches on universal themes of friendship, loyalty, honesty, and home; its fantasy is not tied to technology, but to imagination; the characters are as knowable today as they were when the book was first published and as they will be years from now; and the beautiful writing is timeless.
Whether you use the novel with your full class, with groups, or with individual students, we've provided this guide to offer ways of connecting to various curriculum areas and to meet language arts standards. You'll find literature, writing, reading comprehension, theater, music, art, science, and social studies activities. Most of all, you'll find a rich and lasting experience to share with your students.
This guide was prepared by Clifford Wohl, Educational Consultant
1. Tucker is an observer. He loves to watch the people go by as they rush about the streets of New York City. Tucker is also a listener. George Selden tells us that he "heard almost all the sounds that can be heard." How well do your students listen? Have them sit still and listen intently. Then they should make a list of all of the different sounds they heard and identify where each sound came from.
Discuss with your class ways to describe sound. Introduce them to alliteration and onomatopoeia. For each of the sounds on their lists, they should come up with words and phrases that communicate what they heard. Then they should illustrate the sounds they heard.
Here are some examples of onomatopoeia and alliteration:
Onomatopoeia:
Traffic: car brakes "screechhhh . . . ," horns "hhhonk . . . ," sirens "whiiine"
Alliteration:
Weather: the wind whistles, the sun scorches, tornadoes twist
2. See page 7: "It [Chester's noise] was like a quick stroke across the strings of a violin, or like a harp that has been plucked suddenly." From the very beginning, musical imagery is very important in The Cricket in Times Square. As your students read the book, have them keep a list of the musical words and terms they come across. Include the words and terms they find on your classroom word wall.
3. See Page 13: Mario tries to impress his mother with the usefulness of the cricket by telling her that you can tell the temperature by listening to a cricket's chirp by using this formula:
(chirps/minute ÷4) + 40
Mama is not impressed and says, "Bugs carry germs. He [the cricket] doesn't come into the house."
Mama is right. Bugs can carry germs, but do all bugs carry germs? Do crickets? Your students should do research to find out the answers to these questions and to learn more about crickets.
4. Friendship, loyalty, honesty, family, respect for elders, freedom, and home are themes that can be found in The Cricket in Times Square. Have your students explore these themes in writing, interviews, and group discussions. Here are some specific ideas to get you started:
Home
While Chester is enjoying his time in New York City, he yearns to return to his home in Connecticut. For Tucker and Harry, home is not just a drainpipe in the Time Square subway station, but all of the streets of New York City. All of us have our own concept of home. Have students conduct interviews about what home means. They can interview a relative, a teacher, a student from another class, or one of the characters from The Cricket in Times Square. They should report on their findings and compile a class list identifying the most often mentioned characteristics of what home means.
See Page 48: Freedom
Mario felt good when he bought the cricket cage for Chester, but Chester felt as if he was in jail. When Harry opened the cage for him, he jumped out proclaiming, "It's a relief to be free. There's nothing like freedom." We rarely consider how a pet or an animal in the zoo feels about confinement. Conduct a group discussion on the subject of putting animals in cages. What are the pros and what are the cons?
5.The three friends have unique characteristics. Have your students make a chart of them. The chart should include those traits that are particular to each type of animal and those traits that are out of the ordinary. An example of an unusual characteristic is that the animals can understand the humans' spoken language.
6. Many of the scenes in The Cricket in Times Square are so vivid it seems as if they are being acted out right in front of you. This makes "Readers Theater" a perfect activity for your class. Pick chapters from the book that have lots of dialogue. Try Chapter 8, "Tucker's Life Savings," or Chapter 10, "The Dinner Party." Rewrite the chapter into play form, with stage directions and character speaking parts. Different groups of students can take turns acting out the scenes. They can even make scenery. Be sure to remind them they are acting as a mouse, a cat, or a cricket, and they should adjust their voices and mannerisms accordingly.
7. As your students read The Cricket in Times Square they will notice that life in America was quite different fifty years ago. For example, Mario is allowed to ride the New York City subway all by himself. Can your students imagine that their parents would permit them to do that? Have your students find other examples of how things are different now. Why are they different? Are kids less responsible now? Is it more dangerous now? Do people have different values? What about technology: How has it made the world safer or more dangerous?
8. Chester's musical repertoire includes operatic arias, concertos, popular music, hymns, marches, and folk music. The Bellinis enjoy it all. Use the music scenes to introduce the music that is mentioned in The Cricket in Times Square to your students. Play some of it in the classroom. Have the children close their eyes,the way Papa Bellini does, while they listen. What do your students imagine while listening? They can respond to the music by drawing, painting, or writing. If you do not have musical recordings, check what's available online.
9. Tucker tells Harry and Chester, "New York is a place where the people are willing to pay for talent." As Chester's manager, it is Tucker's job to promote Chester's performances. What better way to do this than with billboard advertising right in Times Square subway station? Have your students design posters for Chester's next recital at the Bellini's newsstand.
10. The Cricket in Times Square Quiz Show is a great way to test your students' knowledge of the book and have fun at the same time. We have provided sixteen questions to start, arranged in order of difficulty. You can change the order, edit the questions, or add your own questions to suit your students' needs. Answers to the questions are included, but use your judgment to decide whether a question is answered correctly. We suggest giving the students thirty seconds to write down their answers, but you might want to tailor the timing.
You'll need a supply of 4 x 6 index cards for each student and a timer. Have them stand at their desks ready to write their answers on the cards. Read a question and give the students the allotted time to write down an answer. When time is called, the children hold up their cards with theirs responses. Check the cards. Children with correct answers remain standing. Children with incorrect answers sit down and are out of the quiz. (Be sure to collect unused cards for further use.) Continue with the quiz until there is only one student standing. He/she is the winner.
Quiz Show questions:
1. In what New York City subway station does Tucker live?
2. How did Chester end up in New York City?
3. Why didn't Mama Bellini want Mario to keep a cricket as a pet?
4. In what country were Mario's parents born?
5. Why didn't Chester want to blame the missing two-dollar bill on the janitor or a stranger?
6. What is Chester's special talent?
7. What kind of leaf is Chester fond of eating?
8. How did the fire in the newsstand start?
A. Mario was playing with matches.
B. Harry lit a fire to keep warm.
C. Tucker knocked over a box of matches.
9. In what season does the novel take place?
10. Why did Mama Bellini insist that Mario work to pay back the missing two dollars?
A. He's the one who spent the money.
B. His pet ate the money.
C. He's the one who lost the money.
11. Where did Mario go to buy a cricket cage?
12. How did Tucker come to Mario's rescue?
13. What magazine did Mr. Smedley buy at the newsstand every month?
14. Who put out the fire in the newsstand? How did he know there was a fire?
15. What kind of music does Papa Bellini like to listen to?
16. What song is Mama's Bellini's favorite?
ANSWERS:
1. Times Square subway station
2. He was trapped in a picnic basket that ended up on a train to Grand Central
Station.
3. She thought bugs carry germs.
4. Italy
5. Chester was honest and felt he should take responsibility.
6. Chester can chirp beautiful music.
7. Mulberry leaves
8. Summer
9. C. Tucker knocked over a box of matches.
10. B. His pet ate the money.
11. Chinatown
12. Tucker used his life savings to help pay back the missing money.
13. Musical America
14. Paul the conductor. He smelled smoke and heard the alarm that Chester made.
15. Italian opera
16. "Come Back to Sorrento"
11. In 1960, Advise and Consent by Allen Drury and Hawaii by James A. Michener were the top-selling books; Psycho and Spartacus were box-office favorites; westerns ruled the television airways with Gunsmoke, Wagon Train, and Have Gun—Will Travel; The Flintstones premiered on television; the Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown" was playing on the radio; Elvis was discharged from the Army; JFK was elected President of the United States; and The Cricket in Times Square was published. Fifty years later, The Cricket in Times Square is still a favorite with young readers. What makes this book a classic? Many of your students' parents have read this book when they were children. Have your students talk about it with their parents. Then open up a class discussion about why they think this book has such lasting powers.