Title The Cricket in Times Square Series Chester Author George Sheldon Illustrated by Garth Williams Publisher Bantam Doubleday - 1988 First Printing Bantam Doubleday - 1960 Category Children Warnings None Main Characters Chester, Tucker, Harry, Mario Main Elements Anthropomorphic

After Chester, a cricket, arrives in the Times Square subway station via a picnic basket from his native Connecticut, he takes up residence in the Bellinis' newsstand. There, the tiny creature is lucky enough to find three good friends: a little boy named Mario whose parents run the unsuccessful newsstand, a fast-talking Broadway mouse named Tucker and hi pal, Harry the Cat. Throughout their escapades and their ups and downs in New York City, together they somehow manage to bring success to the almost bankrupt newsstand.

Re-reading this book brought back memories of borrowing the book from the tiny library that used to be a couple blocks away from my house run by a couple of little old ladies. That library is long gone, along with most other libraries in the city. But I liked the book so much that when I saw it in a store I just had to buy it.

It's a wondeful tale about a country cricket that finds himself lost in the the busy city subway system. About how Mario wants to keep him as a pet, first making him a bed out of a matchstick box, and later finding him a Chinese cricket cage. About friendship and discovering talents one never knew one had. And the yearning for home, no matter how much you like where you are now.

As I've collected too many books over the years I've had to start giving some of them away. But Chester will be staying around a while longer. It may have only been a runner up for the Newberry Medal but I consider it a classic of children's literature.