Review: The Cricket in Times Square

Title: The Cricket in Times Square
Author: Garth Williams
Pages: 151
Rating: 5/5
Challenges: 1960 Children Classics, Mount TBR

Summary from Goodreads:

After Chester lands, in the Times Square subway station, he makes himself comfortable in a nearby newsstand. There, he has the good fortune to make three new friends: Mario, a little boy whose parents run the falling newsstand, Tucker, a fast-talking Broadway mouse, and Tucker's sidekick, Harry the Cat. The escapades of these four friends in bustling New York City makes for lively listening and humorous entertainment. And somehow, they manage to bring a taste of success to the nearly bankrupt newsstand.

As a child growing up, I never read The Cricket in Times Square.  I remember seeing it at the library, and noting the fact that Garth Williams, the same man who illustrated the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and Charlotte's Web, was the illustration, but I never pushed myself to read it.  A few years ago, when I was searching the shelves at Borders, I picked up a few books that I felt I had missed out on when I was an adolescent.  The Cricket in Times Square was one of those books.  When I joined the Pre-1960s reading challenge this year, I knew this would be a perfect book to read for the challenge.

Published in 1960, The Cricket in Times Square, introduces us to Chester Cricket.  Chester has inadvertently found himself in the busy Times Square subway station, where he meets Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse.  I adored all three of these tiny creatures.  Each one has a wonderful personality, and really helped to make the story something special.  Chester, himself, is the cutest little cricket in the world, and I just loved him. 

George Selden actually wrote quite a few other books that also feature Chester Cricket and his friends.  I had not known this before reading the book, and now I'm itching to give them a try.  There's just something inspiring about sitting down and reading a really good children's book to make you smile a bit brighter.  I can't wait until Anthony is old enough to enjoy this one with me.  It's a wonderful story that I look forward to sharing!