Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride (Chester Cricket and His Friends) - Hardcover

Selden, George

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374312397 ISBN 13: 9780374312398

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 1981

Synopsis

Chester Cricket--the famous cricket in Times Square--is homesick. When his friend Mario takes him to a sky show at the Planetarium, Chester realizes how much he misses seeing real stars at night.

Happily, he finds his way out of the subway into Times Square, where he meets a new friend, Lulu Pigeon. Lulu takes him on a trip beyond his wildest dreams. From Central Park to the top of the Empire State Building, from the Statue of Liberty and back to Times Square, Chester sees Manhattan in style--and even finds a little bit of country in the city!

About this title

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.

Selden lived in New York City until his death in December 1989. He enjoyed music, archaeology, and J.R.R. Tolkien. His editor, Stephen Roxburgh, said, "Chester Cricket, Harry Cat, Tucker Mouse, and their friends celebrate the triumph of innocence and camaraderie over cynicism and selfishness. George Selden is gone, but his voice lives on in Chester Cricket's song."

Garth Williams illustrated all seven of the Chester Cricket books and many other distinguished works, including Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, and the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Review

"The fourth adventure in the Cricket in Times Square saga is aimed, through its large format and full-page illustrations, at younger readers." --Booklist

"It's a sure bet that the new Selden/Williams fantasy will be another enduring bestseller." --Publishers Weekly

Edition details

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 1981
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0374312397
• ISBN 13: 9780374312398
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Williams Garth
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64