Old Cricket - Hardcover

Wheeler, Lisa; Ponder Goembel

3.84

167 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689845103 ISBN 13: 9780689845109

Publisher: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, 2003

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Old Cricket tells his missus why he can't fix the roof -- "I woke with a creak in my knee, dear wife."
He tells Cousin Katydid why he can't pick berries -- "I woke with a creak in my knee and a crick in my neck."
He tells Uncle Ant why he can't harvest corn -- "I woke with a creak in my knee, a crick in my neck, and a crack in my back....I'm off to see Doc Hopper."
But before he gets there, Old Crow comes calling. "Caw-caw-caw," he says, hungrily. And caw is one C-word Old Cricket can't relish.
The creators of Sailor Moo present a second critter comedy, full of wordplay and antic animation.

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Review:

Old Cricket didn't get to be a ripe old age "by being a dumb bug." No, sir. When his wife asks him to ready their roof for the winter, he fakes a knee injury to weasel out of it. When she sends him off to Doc Hopper, he hobbles out of the house "with a creak-creak-creak in case his missus was watching." On his way, he meets up with his cousin Katydid, who needs help with some berry-picking. He fakes yet another ailment--a crick in his neck--and wobbles off "with a creak-creak-creak, and a crick-crick-crick, in case Katydid was watching." All (meaning Old Cricket's nap) would have gone according to plan, surely, if the bug didn't encounter Old Crow, a bird who didn't get to be a ripe old age "by being a birdbrain." Old Crow wants to eat Old Cricket, and by the time our leggy anti-hero escapes the crow's clutches, the conniving cricket has developed some very real ailments. The team behind the wonderful Sailor Moo: Cow at Sea succeeds again in creating a delightfully clever read-aloud with plenty of rhythm, repetition, and winning wordplay. Ponder Goembel's skillful, larger-than-life illustrations (my, what hairy legs the crickets have!) suit the good-natured fable to a T. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson

About the Author:

Lisa Wheeler has written many books for children, including The Pet Project, illustrated by Zachariah OHora; Spinster Goose, illustrated by Sophie Blackall; and People Don’t Bite People and People Share with People, both illustrated by Molly Idle. She lives with her family in Addison, Michigan. Visit her online at LisaWheelerBooks.com.

Ponder Goembel has illustrated eight books, including two others by Lisa Wheeler, Old Cricket, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and Sailor Moo; A Basket Full of White Eggs, by Brian Swann; and The Night Iguana Left Home, by Megan McDonald. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where the 2005 floods threatened to wash away the nearly finished paintings for this book. Her Web site is www.pondergoembel.com.

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