The Very Quiet Cricket

A cricket is born who cannot talk! A bigger cricket welcomes him to the world, then a locust, a grasshopper and many other insects, but each time the tiny cricket rubs his wings together in vain: no sound emerges. In the end, however, he meets another quiet cricket, and manages to find his "voice". Children will love the repetitive text; the steady parade of new creatures (including "a spittlebug, slurping in a sea of froth"); and of course the happy ending. This is one of a series of Eric Carle books with a mechanical twist: in this case, the quiet cricket bursts into (surprisingly authentic) electronic song as you turn the last page. (The battery is replaceable.) An amusement for the ears, but most ofall--as ever with Carle--a feast for the eyes. The colourful cut-paper illustrations are simply gorgeous, drawing you in even on the hundredth reading. (And there will be a hundredth reading, followed by many more.) (Ages 0 to 4 years) --Richard Farr

View other editions of The Very Quiet Cricket.
View books by Eric Carle.

A beautifully illustrated children's early reading book. - Rated
The Very Quiet Cricket is one of a number of books by the illustrator Eric Call, which tells the tale of growth and passage of time in the life of an insect, other books include, The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Lonely Firefly. Like the other books The Very Quiet Cricket is beautifully illustrated throughout, and keeps the surprise until the very end, when we turn the final page to hear the soft chirp of the cricket.The story is held together by the employment of the same pattern throughout, greeting from another insect in his own manner, and then the cricket's desire and failure to return a reply. This scheme allows the child to predict the story and join in, and as such feel an active part in the telling of the tale. The child can also see the growth of the cricket throughout the story, from the tiny hatchling at sunrise to the full-grown cricket in the moonlight, with each page we can see him grow larger on the page with the passage of time.

It is certainly a book which is appealing enough to be read over and over again, and indeed with familiarity with the story will possibly make it even more attractive, particularly anticipating the cricket's chirp at the end.