|
|
Thank you to these One Book One Community(TM) sponsors 
|
Return to the main "One Book One Community" information page
Animal adventure: Read all about it
A cricket's life in New York provides a joy ride for all ages.
The Cricket in Times Square is published by Square Fish. Text copyright 1960 by George Selden Thompson. Used by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. One Book One Community is a trademark of Orlando Sentinel Communications.
Children will take a walk with the animals in the pages of The Cricket in Times Square, the Orlando Sentinel's 2008 selection for its annual One Book One Community campaign.
The six-week program will run from April 6 through May 18, a marked departure from previous years when activities were scheduled in January and February. Sentinel spokeswoman Cindy Williams hopes the change in dates will better accommodate teachers.
"The timing of the program made it hard because teachers were just returning from holiday break, and they were focused on getting the kids ready for FCAT," says Williams. "We hope that by moving the program to later in the year, and after FCAT, more teachers and more children will participate."
The literacy program, begun in 2002, encourages Central Florida children to develop reading skills by selecting a book that teachers, parents and young readers alike can rally around. Previous selections have included popular classic and contemporary titles such as Charlotte's Web, Because of Winn-Dixie and James and the Giant Peach.
The Cricket in Times Square -- written by George Selden with illustrations by Garth Williams -- was first published in 1960 and was recognized with a Newbery Honor the following year.
The book tells the story of Chester Cricket, a country cricket who is taken in by the family of a New York City newsstand vendor. There he befriends a streetwise mouse named Tucker and his companion Harry Cat. During their many adventures, the pair learn about Chester's talent for music -- a curiosity that might be the only hope for the financially ailing newsstand.
With its theme of friendship and easy humor, the book won over the Sentinel's Reading by Nine steering committee. That program works to ensure that area schoolchildren are reading at grade level by the age of nine, an age when students must make the transition from learning to read, to reading to learn. The committee pores over many books in this role, and the choice for their selection was not an easy one.
"We had several good recommendations this year," says Williams. "But The Cricket in Times Square rose to the top because of its appeal to all ages as well as to both girls and boys."
The book's charm will not be lost on adults, an important aspect of the One Book One Community initiative.
"The appeal for adults is really to read the book to, or with, their children. It's a fun and entertaining book that parents can enjoy with their kids," says Williams. "The purpose of the program is to further the love of reading, whether kids read alone or with an adult."
Williams notes that activities are still in the planning stages for the campaign. Regular events for the program include readings in various elementary school classrooms and a writing contest conducted by the newspaper. Future activity ads will be seen in the Sentinel and on OrlandoSentinel.com, sponsored by the company's Newspaper In Education program.
The Orange County Library System also is working with the Sentinel to coordinate programs based on the book.