A Pocketful of Cricket

by Rebecca Caudill

Other authorsEvaline Ness (Illustrator)
Paperback, 1989

Status

Available

Call number

595.726

Collection

Publication

Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) (1989), Edition: Reissue, 48 pages

Description

A boy takes his pet cricket to school where it first disturbs the class with its chirping, but then becomes the show-and-tell attraction.

User reviews

LibraryThing member kbuttry
This book is about a boy who goes to herd the cows back home. On his way he finds many interesting things and puts them in his pocket. He also finds a cricket which becomes his friend.

I liked this book because the pictures related to the storyline and they were illustrated beautifully. It was a
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very cute story as well.

Towards the end of the book, he shows the class his cricket for show and tell. I would have the children bring something to class the next day for show and tell.
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LibraryThing member brendanFK
When I picked this up I was excited to see some of Evaline Ness' earlier illustrations - before her Caldecott winning "Sam, Bangs and Moonshine" (this one got a Caldecott honor). The illustrations are printed with a similar method of overlapping and semi transparent layers, but they don't have the
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depth and subtlety of "Sam Bangs." They are made with less texture and more hard edged lines. The beautifully loose, blotchy and bold pen lines and washes are not there - just a few subtle hard pen lines. That said, they are great little designs, placed in interesting ways within the pages and many of them floating on a text heavy page. And this book is text heavy (it was written in 1964) but it is really wonderful text. It is a first day of school story, but you wouldn't know it for the first third of the book. We have plenty of time to get to know the main character, Jay, and the details of his slow paced life on the farm. In the waning days of August he takes in and befriends a cricket, who he just can't leave behind when he gets on the bus for his first day of school. The cricket sets him apart from the other children and causes him problems in class.
Despite the lengthy text my three year old son wanted it read to him three times in a row. This is because the reader gets a real intimate look into Jay's world and his emotions. His joy and his sadness are really tangible in both the text and the illustrations.
It is a good story of feeling different, but finding a way to fit in while celebrating what makes you unique. It also is wonderful in its depiction of the teacher - who comes across first as a strict and mean, but listens to and understands Jay, shaping the learning around the students as well as the students around the learning.
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LibraryThing member SuPendleton
I looked for this book after it was suggested as a mentor text for descriptive writing. It has a few pages that can be used as mentor text for students - when Jay is walking along the hillside observing the natural world. The story is very simplistic but shows how a student's passion can be shared
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with his classmates. I was happy to have stumbled on the illustrator because it caused me to remember one of my favorite childhood books I had forgotten about that she also illustrated: Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine.
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LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
I found the title and cover?appealing even before I opened it. And it is absolutely lovely. ?áThe pictures are by the illustrator of Sam, Bangs, and Moonshine, another wonderful book for the right reader. ?áPoetic text that evokes the simple joys of living in the country, with a very
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understanding mother and schoolteacher. The only thing I didn't like was that the cricket is held captive - but it is, after all, just an insect. A little on the long side, but worth it for the quiet, sensitive child. I am not surprised that there is an award in the author's name....?á
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Awards

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

10 inches

ISBN

0805012753 / 9780805012750

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