Tucker is a streetwise city mouse. He thought heÕd seen it all. But heÕs never met a cricket before, which really isnÕt surprising, because, along with his friend Harry Cat, Tucker lives in the very heart of New York CityÑthe Times Square subway station. Chester Cricket never intended to leave his Connecticut meadow. HeÕd be there still if he hadnÕt followed the entrancing aroma of liverwurst right into someoneÕs picnic basket. Now, like any tourist in the city, he wants to look around. And he could not have found two better guidesÑand friendsÑthan Tucker and Harry. The trio have many adventuresÑfrom taking in the sights and sounds of Broadway to escaping a smoky fire.

Chester makes a third friend, too. It is a boy, Mario, who rescues Chester from a dusty corner of the subway station and brings him to live in the safety of his parentsÕ newsstand. He hopes at first to keep Chester as a pet, but Mario soon understands that the cricket is more than that. Because Chester has a hidden talent and no oneÑnot even Chester himselfÑrealizes that the little country cricket may just be able to teach even the toughest New Yorkers a thing or two.

The Cricket in Times Square is a 1961 Newbery Honor Book.