The Old Meadow

Chester Cricket and His Friends #7

by George Selden

Illustrated in b&w, heroic Chester Cricket and fellow animal friends help save the kind, old hermit from being evicted.

Genres: Animals, Fiction, Childrens, Fantasy, Chapter Books, Middle Grade, Juvenile

202 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

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.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...

Reviews

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. I did not like this one at all. In the first two-thirds of the book, every human and animal is either angry or depressed or both. The humans are all horrible, and if any character is particularly stupid and unpleasant, they are also described as "fat." (I smell a burning issue--or do I mean tissue?) The animals not only want to save their meadow but an old man who has trained his dog to live on vegetables, which, unnatural as that is, makes him a hero in their eyes, apparently. (Is Selden one of those vegetarians who think humans should just get off the planet and leave it to the animals? And yet, those very people seem to think themselves the exception. Well, they would.)

Then Selden decides to recycle the theme of his first book about "music hath charms to sooth the savage breast", in almost the same way--a concert of sorts that holds all the humans spellbound. But this time he takes it much too far, and descends into sentimental schlock. It reminded me of one of those awful old musicals where some terrible thing happens and the young folks gather to moan about it, and then some kid yells, "I know! Let's get up a SHOW!"

Except in the movie, it solves everything and everyone's happy. In the book, Selden tries to give the ol' heart strings one final jerk in hopes of...what? Making the kiddies cry?
Ugh.

For no one.

[Kerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this Chester Cricket title. It was quite dark and the climax didn't make a lot of sense. For those who love the stories about Chester and his friends, I recommend skipping this one.

[Katja Labonté · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars & 5/10 hearts. I was hesitant to begin this book because I saw that the two reviews on Goodreads were unfavourably. I’m glad I chose to read it anyways. Personally, I loved it. Mr. Budd was so… heart-tugging. The whole story was heart-tugging. There’s some sort of whimsical, wistful sadness in it. There were a couple words I could do without, also the capital Hs when referring to the hawk bothered me a little; but otherwise, I loved it. Donald is so sweet, and you can’t help liking Drubber. J.J. and Ashley are amazing, and I loved seeing John, Walt, Simon, and the chipmunks again! I think this is a sweet ending to the series.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a beautiful and powerful end to this series and I am so glad that I took the time to read the series in its entirety this year. I am a wee bit sad that I did not ever read these when I was young, given how much I loved The Cricket in Times Square. But, better late than never! This final volume is tender and loving and a wonderful reminder of what really matters in the world. All of the creatures in the meadow come together and create a perfect moment in time so that an old man and his home can be saved and it is just plain heart-warming. Quirky and delightful, and those two adjectives pretty much sum up this entire series.

[Joyfully Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one didn't capture my attention as much as the other books in the series, but nevertheless it was a good book. Especially during Dark Night, which was a very beautiful part of the book. I hate to see the series come to an end!! This series really gave me Redwall vibes :)

[Worm of the Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how Avon Mountain was featured in this. I live in Connecticut and I have hiked Avon Mountain and up to Heublien Tower a couple times. And out of all the books I have never seen Chester get so emotional and when I say that angry emotional. So different from how he was in Time Square.

[Marlee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as the others in the series. It felt different, being so focused on a human. However, my daughter and I both loved the animal characters and their final adventure. The words were still beautiful and touching. I often wanted to stop and savour them. Lovely.

[Brittany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is it just me who thought the old man should have probably gone to a home? The fact that he hit the dog didn't raise him in my esteem either.

[Johnny Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good story with a fairly soft ending. I still enjoyed it. The last of the Cricket in Time Square series. Must be moving on.