Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

THE CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE is a classic children's story. Written in the 1960's and the winner of a Newbery Honor Book award, THE CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE has wonderful staying power. Now, courtesy of Macmillan Young Listeners, the tale truly comes to life.

The story finds a country cricket, Chester, unwittingly stranded in New York City. After falling asleep in a picnic basket in Connecticut, he wakes up in a world that is totally different to him. He is befriended by Mario, a young boy who helps his parents run a newsstand in the subway. Chester encounters Tucker, a wizened city mouse, and his friend, Harry Cat. The two teach Chester how to live in the city and enjoy the wonders of the subway.

Soon, everyone learns of Chester's talent of recreating any music he hears, and spellbounds Mario's parents, music critics, and subway commuters alike. But Chester quickly becomes tired of the constant performing, and misses his quiet country life. Tucker and Harry do their best to ensure that Chester finds his way back home.

With the talents of Tony Shalhoub, Chester Cricket, Harry Cat, and Tucker Mouse become real characters that the listener can instantly relate to. Even though the story is about animals in a Times Square subway station, the listener gets drawn in and wants there to be a happy ending.

Mr. Shalhoub creates unique voices for each of the characters, and from the very beginning, it is easy to decipher which character is doing the speaking. I listened to the story (an unabridged production on two CDs) with my two children and they were immediately enchanted. With classical music signaling the end of each chapter, they both would shout out the next one.

For anyone not familiar with the classic tale, listening to it will be an adventure. And for those that know the sweet tale of Chester finding himself in a foreign land (at least for him), listening to the story will be a treat. No one will be disappointed! ( )

I read this book for the first time this week and I'm 21. If I had read it when I was younger I think I would have liked it more. It was still a very cute book and I enjoyed reading it. It's a really quick and easy read, but it still contains an important moral. ( )

The kids loved it - I liked it, too.
The following is part of the review I posted on my blog, A Sea of Books.
Since New York City figures so prominately in the book world this weekend, it seems an appropriate time to post my review of this children's classic. I read it to my niece and nephew over a couple of weeks, reading a chapter or two in the evenings. My nephew is 8 and my niece is 5. This is the first long book that has held both of their interests, and they eagerly looked forward to each session. My niece would often ask during the day if we'd be reading "the cricket book" that night.

Believe it or not, I had never read THE CRICKET IN TIMES SQUARE before, and I found myself reading ahead after the kids went to sleep because I just had to find out what happened! And why not? This is a charming story full of adventure, friendships, and whimsy. I don't think anything I say would improve on the abundance of accolades showered on this book through the decades since it was first published in 1960. All I'm going to do is give it a big thumbs up and encourage anyone who hasn't read it, to do so -- with or without a kid at your side! It's thoroughly enjoyable! ( )

fun charming story about a cricket who wakes up one day in NY Times Square and is befriended by a mouse and a cat, and he finds out that he is quite musically talented=D ( )

Cute and appealing, well written story of a cricket who comes to New York and ends up saving the nearby Bellini's Newsstand business by chirping Opera tunes. Nevertheless, it has flat and static characters, and thus isn't one of my favorites; however, for a good whimsical animal story, it serves its purpose well.