Very Quiet Cricket: A Multi-Sensory Book

Rating:
Summary: Masterful and Magical story telling by Eric Carle
Review: I read the book the Very Quiet Cricket upon the prodding of my sister who happens to be a pre-school teacher. She was preparing several synopses on Eric Carle books which would be printed in the programme of her school's forthcoming Reading Recital. My sister asked me to help her write the synopsis to this book as well as 3 other books. Eric Carle's storytelling in the Very Quiet Cricket caught my curiosity as different insects interacted with our hero page after colorful page. The story ended in a way which delighted me and gave me such respect for the lowly cricket. I discovered a beautiful love story in the book, a story of how awesome nature really is. For me, the chirping sound in the last page really became "the most beautiful sound I had ever heard".

Rating:
Summary: Eric Carle is a Genius
Review: I will always have a great memory of this book. This was my toddler's favorite in daycare so we got it for his birthday. The first day he had it he fell asleep with the book opened to the last page (chirp chirp) and his arm around it.

Now his brother likes it, but not nearly as much.

Rating:
Summary: A bit Gimmicky but loved by my Preschooler
Review: Living out in the country, all of the insects presented in this book were part of our life. Our 3 year old loves to help us out by saying, "Nothing happened not a sound...." (a repetitive line in the book) establishing great prereading skills. Super for preschoolers and toddlers but you won't make it too much past Kinder.

Rating:
Summary: Great Illustrations & Story, but...
Review: My 8 1/2 month old is fascinated by the wonderful artwork and the chirping sound. I expect he'll enjoy the story when he can understand the words. However, there's an inconsistency in the text that drives me crazy. The three crickets are referred to as "he" and "she," but the praying mantis and worm are referred to as "it." Argh!

Rating:
Summary: Great Illustrations & Story, but...
Review: My 8 1/2 month old is fascinated by the wonderful artwork and the chirping sound. I expect he'll enjoy the story when he can understand the words. However, there's an inconsistency in the text that drives me crazy. The three crickets are referred to as "he" and "she," but the praying mantis and worm are referred to as "it." Argh!

Rating:
Summary: Sweet Story, Beautifully Illustrated
Review: My two year old son loves The Very Quiet Cricket; and this book, along with "Brown Bear, Brown Bear...", have been his bedtime favorites for months. Toddlers and parents alike will enjoy the repetitive and rhythmic nature of the verse (my son heaves a very dramatic sigh every time I read "...but nothing happened, not a sound." The simplicity of the tale lends itself nicely to parental embellishment, which is great for those who like to add a bit of their own drama to a story. I love the fact that I can tailor my reading of it to suit the hour or my son's mood, making it shorter or longer, exciting or soothing. Eric Carle's illustrations alone make this book a worthy addition to any child's library.

I agree with the reviewer who complained that this is not "first reader" material, but I would add that "The Very Quiet Cricket" is more about the joy of reading than about teaching the mechanics of sounding out simple words.

Rating:
Summary: Our child loves this book!
Review: The Very Quiet Cricket is a great book, and while difficult, I suspect most children will like this much more than their parents suspect. Like all of Eric Carle's books, my son (2 ½) loves The Very Quiet Cricket. The art is, as always, amazing, and he really enjoys repeating the phrases on each page. The formula seems to draw out his inquisitiveness; this book nearly always stimulates more enjoyment than others do. In particular, he enjoys the chirping sound the book makes when you turn to the last page. He'll ask to have the book read to him as many as four times in a row.

This is a challenging book for young kids, more so than many of Carle's others. I think the interesting insects and provocative words and sounds are part of why my son likes it so much. It may be some time before he really masters that vocabulary, but I love that Carle challenges his young readers in this way. I can unconditionally recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Attention getting illustrations
Review: this isn't a favorite of mine. The Very Hungry Caterpillar is better. The cricket's story isn't as interesting to the children I've worked with as the caterpillar's. The illustrations are vintage Carle - we all did love the pictures. And I like that he introduces new vocabulary for children, and the use of repitition is still there. Some of the bug names were even hard for a few of the adults, however. Overall, I'd say check this out from the library if your child is a fan of Carle's work and has already read The Very Busy Spider and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. If they love it, then you can think about buying it.

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites!
Review: This was one of my first Eric Carle books. It's a very friendly book featuring a baby cricket, new to the world being greeted by a variety of friendly insects.

It's also a wonderful way to introduce children to many different kinds of insects, all wonderfully illustrated.

The story is written in a way where a poetic rhythm can be created easily that's carried from page to page to help with certain emphasis that builds expectation. That's seems to be the case with most of Erics books. Simple stories and repetition for emphasis.

Throught this story "the very quite cricket wants to say hello so he rubs his legs together and nothing happens not a sound!"

It ends with the very quite cricket meeting another cricket who is also very quiet. this time when he rubs his legs together you turn the page and here an actual cricket chirp which is sampled or synthisized onto a little chip with replaceble batteries inserted into the back cover controlled by a simple attachment thats activated when you turn the last page. Pretty cool! I love it and so do my kids!