Cricket Never Does: A Collection of Haiku and Tanka

by Myra Cohn Livingston

Divided into four sections, one for each season of the year, an anthology of sixty-seven haiku and tanka, Japanese forms of verse, explores the poet's thoughts and feelings about the world and its wonders.

Genres: Poetry

48 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1997

About the author

Myra Cohn Livingston was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Her family moved to California when she was 12 years old. She studied the French horn from age 12 to age 20, becoming so good that the Los Angeles Philharmonic invited her to join them when she was 16 years old. She had other plans. She knew she wanted to write.

Reviews

[Samra · Rating 3 out of 5]

simple, nothing too complicated

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this little book. I did like several of the poems, actually. But I really didn't like the one about the dead cat.

[Correen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author divides her book into four seasons. My favorite:

Ocean, how do you
know when to curve and make of
the earth a round ball?

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nature poetry with the setting in the city and by the ocean shore.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of Japanese poems, in the form of haiku and tanka, that celebrate the four seasons of the year. The poems are nature-focused, as is typical for these kinds of poems, and they are certainly thought-provoking. There are few illustrations, and while it is a short book, younger children might tire of these poems rather quickly. Our girls enjoy poetry books, and we still took our time reading them.

This book was selected as one of the books for the June 2013 - Poetry discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[Bridget R. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livingston divides her collection of 67 haiku and tanka into the four seasons. Her poetry makes the reader look at nature with new eyes as she presents images in innovative ways. Bougainvillea becomes a mask for graffiti. Trees become castles and havens (as Anne Shirley would want them to be). Fall floras watch over streets. Leaves huddle and the moon is a canoe.

What I thought: Haiku is meant to capture moments in time. These certainly do. I find haiku to be a challenging form from a writer's perspective. The brevity alone is difficult to achieve. From a reader's perspective, haiku is wonderful. Just a few words call up an image. That is power, a power that Livingston has.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was delighted to find this older book at a favorite used bookstore by Myra Cohn Livingston filled with her beautiful haiku and tankas. Because I’m been trying to write in these new forms, it felt like the book was waiting for me. It’s divided by seasons, and in each, one can find such images that almost seem celebrated. I will share just a line from each season: Spring-‘shiny colored tents’ (umbrellas in rain), Summer-about bees-‘in their orange-and-black striped sweaters’, Fall – leaves – ‘these yellow birds”, and Winter – “Piles of ragged leaves”. Hope you can find a copy. I see that Alibris has several used copies available.

[Tawny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Favorite lines: 1. "Ocean, how do you / know when to curve and make of / the earth a round ball?"
2. "Even the moon lies / on its back, rolling over / to stare into space."
3. "Slowly the ocean / sucks in its breath, letting it / out with a gurgle."
4. "One by one, circling / down to earth, these yellow birds, / these frail, falling leaves."

[Chris Cutler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of the poems have great images. My favorites were "Along the railroad tracks" and "Bougainvillea spills" from the section on spring. Though good, only a few of Livingston's poems carry the feeling of Japanese poetry.

[Victoria Clay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be great to use to introduce a poetry unit on haikus. It also is divided into seasons so it could be used to explore the different seasons. It is a great way to get students thinking about their own haikus.

[Selena Fornander · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a funny little peotry book. This book is a good little book you can read in a short time for your peotry books

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this because it gives a variety of examples of haiku, but I did have to look up tanka to understand that form of poetry.

[Sonia Allison]

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