The Very Quiet Cricket
Written and illustrated by Eric Carle
Publication Date: 1990
Publisher: Philomel Books
ISBN: 0-399-21885-8
Summary/back cover:
One day a tiny cricket is born and meets a big cricket who chirps his welcome. The tiny cricket tries to respond, but there is not a sound. And so the quiet cricket makes his way in the world, meeting one insect after another who greets the cricket with the cheery hello of its species – the hum of the bee, the whirr of the dragonfly, the screech of the cicada. Finally it matures and meets a female cricket who evokes from the quiet cricket “the most beautiful sound that she had ever heard!”
The trouble with Eric Carle books is that once you’ve read The Very Hungry Caterpillar all his other stories are disappointing, by comparison – even if the books are really good, as the The Very Quiet Cricket is.
The story is sweet, the admiration Carle has for insects is ever-present, and the pictures are in beautiful Carle-style. The colours and writing aren’t quite as rich as in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, however, and The Very Quiet Cricket lacks the charm of the “caterpillar” holes and layered pages of fruit. There-in lies the problem with the book – the undeniable urge to play comparison with Carle’s best-seller.
The story adds charm by playing a little chirping cricket sound that is only revealed as you get to the last pages. That’s the other problem with the book – the chirping runs on a battery that will ultimately need replacing.
My rating: 3.5 out of 5
Review written by team_s
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