The Cricket in Times Square

Chester Cricket and His Friends #1

by George Selden, René Auberjonois (narrator)

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.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Classics, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Animals, Young Adult

Audio CD

First published January 1, 1960

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

[Jewell · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of us writers have so much to learn from this book. If you are not a writer, skip this paragraph. If you are, or aspire to be, a writer, try this exercise: 1. Type out the first few paragraphs of A Cricket in Times Square as you read them. Feel the music in your fingers. Feel the light quickness of the sentences. 2. Turn to the end of the book (if you have read it before!), and type out the last few paragraphs. Take a moment to feel it again. You have just felt in your own fingers a little bit of magic.
I tried this exercise myself. As an author who previously wrote for adults, I had to learn how to capture the special voice-on-the-wind style that speaks so well for children. There is no better teacher than George Selden.

A cat, a mouse, and a cricket. All of them living in a nook at a newspaper stand in Times Square. This book speaks to us on so many levels. Cricket speaks to the child in us, the child that finds the most delight in the little things. (Read this book to a second grader—any second grader—and you’ll see!) Cricket also speaks to the forests and rivers and natural wonders that we carry inside us no matter where we are. Even on the platform of one of the busiest subway stations in the world. Yet the book also speaks to we lovers of cities, with its great mix of cultures (a cat, a mouse, a cricket, all friends? Only in New York.) At last, the book has a lot to say about music. If a child you know is interested in music, give this book to them, and I guarantee a raise of spirits! Indeed, Selden writes so well, that if you listen, you can nearly hear the songs.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember my third grade teacher reading this book aloud to us every day after lunch, and I remember really enjoying it, but I could barely remember the main characters when I recently picked it up again! I fell in love with it while reading it this time, it's such a charming story. I love this kind of children's book - a self-contained book with appealing characters you root for, amusing escapades, a unique and distinct setting that you grow to know and understand, and an overarching plot that keeps you hooked. This plot keeps the stories tied together, but the escapades are as intriguing and could be just as easily read on their own. In the vein of "Stuart Little," "The Wind in the Willows," "Ellen Tebbits," or the Ramona series.

[Lata · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Would have been higher but for the kind of painful portrayal of two Chinese gentleman and of Mario's mother; they felt rather like stereotypes.
This was one of my favourite stories as a kid. I read this and "Tucker's Countryside" several times over. The characters are gentle and kind, even somewhat greedy Tucker mouse. Harry cat remains sleek and cool on this reread, which doesn't surprise me as that's what cats are.

[Olivia · Rating 4 out of 5]

{October 2025 Reread}

First time rereading this in YEARS and you know what? It's still a slay. A book published in 1960 about a little boy who finds a cricket in the corner of a subway station and treats it like the most precious thing he's ever encountered instead of torturing it? A friendship between said cricket, a mouse, and the mouse's feline best friend that's so wholesome it actually Touched Me this time around? This is everything, actually.

(Only real complaint is that the portrayal of Sai Fong is iffy.)

[Luisa Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love. Love. Love.

It's one of the cutest stories I can think of and will always be one of the first several books I'll recommend to a parent looking for a fun read-aloud for her five to eight year old.

Ages: 5/6+

Cleanliness:
Children's Bad Words: sucker, gosh

Attitudes/Disobedience - 2 Incidents: The cricket accidentally eats a two-dollar bill and feels very sad about it. His friend the mouse suggests various ways to hide the incident or to blame someone else to get them in trouble, but the cricket says that wouldn't be right. The mouse replies," Oh you're so honorable! It's disgusting." However, the mouse later gives money to help compensate for the lost two-dollar bill. At one point the mother gets very mad because their newsstand burns down. She blames the cricket and rants about this for a time. It's narrated that, "She had found someone on whom she could blame her unhappiness and there was no stopping her."

Conversation Topics - 3 Incidents: It mentions a few times that characters smoke a pipe. It references "Nature" once and how she gave the cricket wings. The little boy sees Chinese goddesses (idols) on a shelf in a store and the shopkeeper tells him a story relating why the Chinese think crickets are lucky and how it started with the high gods.

Parent Takeaway
A sweet tale about a conscientious cricket who finds himself in New York City and the family that he wants to help for being so kind to him.

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[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was a kid. It's a good book to read right now (early September) because it ends in September. (According to the book, crickets chirp most in late summer. This book spans from the beginning of summer to September.) It is also a good book to read if you are planning a trip to New York City, or even Connecticut (Chester's original home.)

The Chinese man's accent is just awful and I cleaned it up when I read this book aloud to my son, but basically it has a good depiction of Chinese people (and people in general) in this book. Everyone is so kind to Chester!

[Ross Blocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my new reading traditions is following the Reading Glasses Podcast annual Reader Challenge. As I got to the end of 2020, I had yet to check the "book you have already read" box, which is something I don't do very often. I noticed The Cricket in Times Square on my shelf; a book I had read in 6th grade and enjoyed enough to hold on to. I didn't remember much more than what could be assumed from the cover: a cricket with musical abilities brings life to a New York subway station. And it had won the Newbery Award!

It's a very sweet story, which all flooded back as I read. Chester the Cricket is [literally] sandwiched into a picnic basket and transported from his lovely meadow in Connecticut to a dirty and decidedly unnatural New York metro station. Mario, the son of the newspaper-stand-owning Bellinis, hears Chester's forlorn chirps and adopts him. As Mario tries to figure out how to take care of a cricket, Chester makes friends with the subway cat (Harry) and mouse (Tucker). As the Bellinis fret at the impending close of their struggling newsstand, the revelation that Chester can play music begins to draw crowds. It's a simple story, but there's a fire, a trip to Chinatown, a music critic... all kinds of side action going on. I loved seeing Garth Williams's illustrations again; I could remember staring at them as a kid, enjoying the intricacy of the ink lines and the immense appeal of Tucker Mouse.

I'm surprised to see there's no movie adaptation of this story; it seems custom-made for one of those CG animal / live-action combos, ala Stuart Little. There are dated depictions of Chinese characters: Sai Fong in particular is treated with respect but otherized to an extent that will require some side context/discussion if you're reading this with your kids. Still, it's a charming little book that evokes simple times and innocent camaraderie. Bonus points for the cat singing, "When I'm calling yoooooooooo...."

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Talent is something, but tact is everything.”

What a delight it was to have this classic library-bound children’s book arrive as a donation for my Little Free Library Shed.

Some books do not simply tell a story — they create a warm and welcoming place for readers of all ages to step inside. This is one of them.

What do a cricket, a mouse, and a cat have in common? In this beautifully illustrated classic, it is an unexpected and heartfelt friendship.

Chester Cricket finds himself far from his quiet Connecticut home after accidentally falling asleep inside a picnic basket that carries him on a train and subway journey all the way to New York City. Lost and longing for home, he encounters Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat, two unforgettable companions who have already carved out their own lives in the bustling city. Together — along with the kind-hearted human boy, Mario — they form a friendship rooted in compassion, loyalty, and understanding.

As a 1961 Newbery Honor book, this story remains timeless in the way it gently explores belonging, identity, friendship, and the meaning of home. George Selden’s storytelling is charming and tender, while the gorgeous illustrations by Garth Williams add even more magic and warmth to the pages.

There is such sweetness woven throughout this tale — humor, adventure, and heart — but also an enduring reminder that true friendship often appears in the most unlikely places and can bridge even the widest differences.

A wonderful classic to share with children, but equally meaningful for adults who enjoy books for kids that emphasize kindness, wonder, and the extraordinary power of friendship.

For those who want to continue the journey with these 3 characters, there is a sequel titled, “Tucker’s Countryside” which was published in 1969. As well as several other books in the ‘Chester Cricket and His Friends’ series.

Age Level: 7 – 11 years+ Grade Level: 3rd – 5th+

[Mary Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I could give this book five stars instead of three. George Selden had a gift for very quickly developing delightful characters, both human and anthropomorphic, as well as writing stellar dialogue. The exchanges between Tucker Mouse and Harry Cat frequently made me laugh, and I found myself sharing some of them aloud with my husband. Garth Williams contributed fantastic art, as usual, and, while each book is totally unique, this combination of story + illustrations is on par with Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O'Brien.

My main criticism is the treatment of a character named Sai Fong, a Chinese gentleman who owns a shop in NYC's Chinatown and plays an active role in the story in two chapters. While mild in comparison to, say, Charlie Chan, I still think Sai Fong is an example of yellowface: a stereotypical caricature of a Chinese person rather than an accurate and dignified depiction. His dialogue is cringe-worthy and his behavior swings between mystical calm and infantilized elation. I would love to share this story with my kids but how to approach the chapters steeped in racism? Should they even be approached at all? On the one hand, I think this could be an excellent learning moment for teaching my kids to always read critically and reject being spoon-fed racism, no matter how sweet the words or cute the package. On the other, I suspect that "learning moment" is often a coded phrase white people use as an excuse to not have to go through the discomfort of cutting racist literature or whatever out of their entertainment. I'm probably going to be deliberating over this for a while.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot to like (loved the scenes that depicted NYC in all its glory), but several instances where characters' actions rang a sour note. They acted one way for chapter upon chapter then said or did something that rang completely untrue. Took you out of the story. In a way, it felt almost like a talented self-published author's first publication. There was a lot to like but it was marred by several glaring mistakes that should have been instantly recognizable.

[Lizzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really glad to give this a reread. I read it in grade school, far away from NYC, long before I thought of living here. (Tangentially, I bought this copy at Half Price Books near Iowa City.) I know that absolutely none of the details of New York came through for me then, because they were entirely outside my frame of reference, so I was really curious about them now.

Well, 4 stars for the New Yorkiness! It really does a great job, and feels really accurate. A lot of the environment is completely recognizable, like the area in the Times Square subway station where Mario's family's newsstand is -- on the pedestrian level where the shuttle train is. And just as many things in the environment feel true but are long gone, like the same area of the station being filled with lunch counters (Nedick's is named) and "soda jerks". There's a fantastic illustration on p.33 of the scene where Harry the cat and Tucker the mouse (BFFs) bring Chester the cricket outside to see 42nd Street, and you can tell that that's accurate too. Ladies in hats and dresses, a big Chevrolet sign atop the crossroads, and the Hotel Astor, which I'd never even heard of, but there you go. (Sidebar for you other City History Clubbers, more exterior pictures from 1904-1967, and a super Time Magazine story not really about the hotel but whatever.)

The story itself of Chester and his music is nice. It's cute when you have animal characters that know all about humans and understand what they say, but of course we humans can't do the same. It wasn't an extraordinarily gripping story, but Chester is sweet. But my favorite parts were when he and Mario played games or went somewhere together, so more about their friendship would've probably helped me care more about the outcome of the plot. Mario's family is pretty nice, and I like that they're immigrants. (Acceptably white, European immigrants, but all the same.)

Because, I have to deduct major points for the entirely unfortunate Chinatown plotline, in which Mario learns that crickets are "sacred" in China and so finds a Chinese person who of course knows everything about crickets -- um, "clickets" -- and wants to give an unlimited number of free things to a random child, and acts like a crazy person a lot. The mispronunciation of Sai Fong's "accent" is just so overboard and not at all how a Chinese person has ever sounded. And at one point, speaking Chinese is described as sounding "like the cheerful clicking of hundreds of chopsticks." It... what? No. It did not. Sadly, cutesy racism dates this story in a much less nostalgic way.

Harry the cat is totally the breakout character for me here, anyway. He knows everything about New York and goes everywhere through tunnels and pipes and under parked cars. He can get you to your train in Grand Central or take in an opera at the Met. I confess to being 100% interested in the sequel and the prequel about him. Thumbs up.

[Dominick · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would seem churlish to give this book two stars, but three seems generous. It's a pleasant enough diversion, I suppose, apart from its plausibility problems: Chester Cricket ends up travelling from Connecticut to Times Square in a picnic basket, gets claimed by a kid whose folks run a newsstand in the train station, and befriends a mouse who's a bit of a hustler (Tucker, the closest thing to an interesting character in the book) and a quiet, feral (in name only; he acts anything but feral) cat named Harry. If you can buy that a bug, a mouse, and a cat all are fast friends, you might like this book better than I did. I didn't dislike it, but its plot is superficial at best, its characters are more or less flat, and it uses some rather unfortunate racial stereotypes (even for 1960). The illustrations by Garth Williams were why I bought this in the first place and remain the book's chief distinguishing feature. Kids will probably enjoy it, but it's not one of those kids' books that stands up to adult scrutiny, I think. (And I say that as someone who even at 50 would list several kids' books as among his favourites.) It does touch, very gently, on the edges of some serious subjects, notably exploitation, but it lacks the depth and sophistication of the best children's literature. And given that the lifespan of a cricket is mere months--they die in the fall--the book's pretend happy ending of Chester going back to the Connecticut countryside seems disingenuous at best. The book doesn't even hint at this being allegorical of death. Give me Charlotte's Web any day--also illustrated by Garth Williams, by the way.

[Stephanie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sigh…Pretty sure the last time I read this book was years ago, before I had ever experienced the magic of New York City for myself. Such a wonderful thing it was tonight, to re-visit my old friends Harry Cat, Tucker Mouse, Chester Cricket, and the Bellinis, at the little subway station newsstand set in “the greatest city in the world.” I’m sure I will drift off to sleep tonight with Garth Williams’ beautiful illustrations in my mind’s eye…
Tomorrow, it’s time to re-read “Tucker’s Countryside”, and visit Chester in Connecticut!

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute!

[Brigitte Grote · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this aloud to my 4 year old and she gave it 5 stars.

[Gretchen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It's a Year 5 Free Read for school so I decided we'd read through it this summer during pockets of quiet.
Funny, charming and delightful! My boys and I especially enjoyed the various references to famous operas and composers....not to mention Tucker Mouse and his scrappy New York persona. It reminds me of E.B. White's imaginative ways of characterizing the animals in his stories.

[Susanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this book somewhat randomly as the first chapter book (excluding the Molly series) I would read aloud to my 5 and 3-year-old. The experience was delightful. David was really into it. Sometimes each of us pretended to be Harry Cat, Tucker Mouse, and Chester Cricket. Sometimes we listened to the music Chester played while reading.

Tucker mouse was such a fun character, and I liked Harry Cat's patience and wisdom. Of course, I got a little choked up in the last chapter. I never read this as a kid, so it was neat to discover this story with the boys.

[Christopher Bunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My wife and I are currently reading this book out loud to our little rascally offspring. When we started, I had a dim memory of the book from when I first read it as a child, ages ago. Selden's style and story stand both the test of time and the test of multi-generational readability.

Cricket is a delightful book, written with a gentle touch that shows both affection for the characters and readers. The characters, Chester the cricket, Tucker the mouse, Mario the little Italian news stand boy, etc., are wonderfully constructed with a sharp ear for dialogue.

Selden wrote a series of books about these same characters, continuing on with the trio of cricket, cat, and mouse friends. I'll proceed reading the next volumes as my villainous children are just as pleased with this story as I am.

By the way, Garth Williams is probably one of the best children's book illustrators in the last century. Though radically different in style, I'd put him in the same class as N. C. Wyeth (stateliness) and Quentin Blake (lovable goofiness). His illustrations in Cricket are a perfect compliment to the story.

As we're winding down into the last chapters, I'm perplexed and saddened that this sort of story is such a rare find these days. I don't mean stories about crickets and mice and all that. I mean stories for children that are so gently written and done with such a superb hand. We need more George Seldens.

[Phil Cotnoir · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cricket accidently arrives in New York. He makes friends with a mouse and a cat who are already best friends. He is discovered and adopted by a young boy, the only son of a poor immigrant family who run a newsstand in the subway station. The cricket turns out to have a musical gift that turns the fortunes of this family around.

One of the most charming things about children's books is that there is no need to have heinous villains bent upon evil and death. It's possible to be so used to this kind of narrative structure, with virtuous protagonist and arch-evil antagonist, that we come to think every story needs to follow this pattern. And so a part of me was tempted to wonder if a children's book with no real antagonist to speak of could generate enough interest.

But the truth is that good writing is interesting, and compelling characters are compelling in almost any context. And in fact, heated action scenes can often serve to paper over a lack of connection with the characters. This little book, a classic among children's literature, is a perfect example of how a small set of characters, well-defined and developed, facing not evil but the vicissitudes of life, can form the basis of an endearing and memorable story.

Call me naïve, but good-heartedness is not boring; it is only our cynicism that makes it seem so.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was dated, written in the 50s I believe, so the old Chinese man in Chinatown spoke with an "l" in lieu of "r"s ("velly" instead of "very", etc.). That was a bit on the not-so-good side and brought this book down a star, but the rest of the book was really quite sweet. There was one scene where I was actually tearing up, but mostly because I was imagining that scene actually happening, that people would all unite in silence and peace at the same moment, and be as one. It was really moving.

Cute book, that I could have sworn I read as a child, but remembered very little of it. There is another book with Chester, "Chester Cricket's New Home", that I could also swear I read as a child. The book cover is familiar at least, but the snippet of it in the back of this book wasn't familiar at all. (sigh) My brain is an Etch-a-Sketch. Once good shake and whatever was in there is gone!

I would recommend this book, with the caveat of the less than PC writing of the old Chinese man. Not necessarily a deal-breaker, but best to know it's there going in. Four solid stars.

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a lovely little book from the past. I love the innocence of the characters and the simplicity of the story. I also love that this is a cricket that plays classical violin concerto's and opera. I also love the little Chinese myth about the cricket buried in the middle of the story. I also appreciate the change in mamma throughout this quick little story. I should have read this when I was young and I'm glad I read it sometime.

[Anita Deacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastically wonderful. Teared up at the end, just like I did when I was 8

[SweetAileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been wanting to read this for awhile and I finally got around to it! I was fortunate enough to find it at a thrift store and I’m so glad I did because it’s such a charming book. :)

[Linore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never read this as a child and thought I'd give it a shot, since I love good children's literature. The book didn't disappoint. With a sweet cast of unlikely animal friends--a mouse, cricket and a cat--as well as some touching human ones, plus a timeless story, and illustrations by the wonderful Garth Williams, it all adds up to fun. It's a keeper for the grandkids.

[Josiah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read The Cricket in Times Square as part of a school project in fifth grade. I had high hopes for the story, as my teacher Mrs. Williams had at that point required us to read three books that are still among the best I've ever read (E.B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan, John D. Fitzgerald's More Adventures of the Great Brain, and Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia).

The Cricket in Times Square turned out to be another big hit. The narrative follows the misplaced Chester Cricket while he tries to find his way around New York City. I love that caring people find Chester and are willing not only to come to his aid, but be his friend. Harry the Cat, and Tucker the Mouse, and Mario the newsboy fill important roles in Chester's life, and the result is a series of unforgettable vignettes and enchanting encounters that still warm my heart. If George Selden had never written another story, I would be a lifelong fan based solely on The Cricket in Times Square. I love this book.

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

Omg the librarian gave this to me and said it was a Newbery winner. It was, won an honor, but my god, I only sat through it because I thought it was on the list of award winners, not honors. I should have checked more closely. I hated this book so thoroughly and I'm not sure if it was the book, or the fact that the audio recording is so divinely hideous, it belongs in one of Dante's layers of hell. The mouse sounds like a bad Gilbert Godfrey and speaks volumes louder than anyone else. The cat sounds like the Godfather if he was stoned on tranquilizers and the cricket sounds like Shaggy from ScoobyDoo pretending to be a woman. I couldn't even understand him half the time, especially considering he spoke at half the volume of everyone else (excluding the mouse, obviously). The text was also tedious, way too long, and the recording vaguely racist with their ching-chong music in the background every time the Chinese guy was around. Good god. And I suffered through it all for nothing. I want to cry.

[linda treglia · Rating 1 out of 5]

My 9 year old son was assigned this book for summer reading. Since it's a children's classic, I decided to read it as well. I was surprised to find racist and offensive stereotypes in this book- from the hot headed, over emotional Italian immigrant mother to the wise old Chinese gentleman who bows incessantly and speaks in broken english and the use of the derogatory "Chinaman." The book was written in 1960, and it is definitely a product of it's time. I think it's time to pick a new book for kids today.

[K.K. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am distressed to see no mention in all the reviews of this book about the ethnic stereotyping in it. I found it offensive to the point that I had to put the book down about half-way through. I don't know if I was ever able to finish the book. I would never read this to my students, unless I used it to illustrate racist stereotyping in books, and as a touchpoint for discussions around stereotyping and its effects.

[DivaDiane SM · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd forgotten this book almost completely. There are so many lovely parts of this book. That the Bellinis are Italian immigrants who love opera, that Chester was such a talented musician with an uncanny ability to learn a melody and reproduce it exactly. And that he ultimately chose to go home rather than continue to as a slave to his fame. His conviction and resolve are important, even though he had to leave his friends behind.

[Eliza Noel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually don't care for animal books but this one was quite pleasant. I really liked the ending.