Tucker's Countryside

by George Selden, Garth Williams (Illustrator)

Overview

Chester Cricket needs help. That's the message John Robin carries into the Times Square subway station where Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse live. Quickly, Chester's good friends set off on the long, hard journey to the Old Meadow, where all is not well.

Houses are creeping closer. Bulldozers and construction are everywhere. It looks like Chester and his friends' home will be ruined and the children of the town won't have a place to play. Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse are used to the city life. Now in the country, they need to find a place to stay and good things to eat. And most of all they must think of a plan to help their friends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250002563
Publisher:	Square Fish
Publication date:	05/22/2012
Series:	Chester Cricket and His Friends Series , #2
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.48(h) x 0.54(d)
Lexile:	750L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

George Selden (1929-1989) was the author of A 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.

Garth Williams (1912-96) illustrated all seven of the Chester Cricket books and many other works, including Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web.

Editorial Reviews

A delightful, breezy story with lively humorous drawings . . . A warm, witty, whimsical text.” —School Library Journal, Starred Review

“An enchanting book . . . funny, tender, exciting.” —The Washington Post

“Thrilling and funny . . . an outstanding book of the year.” —The New York Times

“There's enough gusto—especially in Tucker's reactions to rural life and to Harry's defection—to make this a not unworthy successor to Cricket if not its equal.” —Kirkus Reviews

“It isn't often that a reviewer can write that a sequel to a delicious book is every bit as delicious as the book it follows. . . . Tucker's Countryside is a perfect match in text and illustration to . . . The Cricket in Times Square.” —Publishers Weekly

“A charming . . . fantasy. Beautifully illustrated.” —The Horn Book

From the Publisher