And the reading challenge continues!
As stated in a previous post, my librarian friend Ashley Lambacher of
the Book Talker and I are hosting the Buckeye Book Award Reading
Challenge. Our goal is to read all the
past winners from the children’s book category in chronological order from 1982
to the present. I will read the K-2
picture book winners and Ashley will read the 4-8/3-5 chapter book
winners. Because 1992 was skipped, today
I continue my challenge by reading the winner of the K-2 Buckeye Book Award in
1993,The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric
Carle.
The Very Quiet Cricket is
another celebration of nature by Eric Carle.
But unlike The Very Hungry Caterpillar and The Very Busy Spider, this
book has a special element sure to entertain young readers. In this story, a small
cricket hatches one day and is welcomed with a chirp by a large cricket. But when the tiny cricket rubs his wings, he
is unable to speak in return. On each
double-spread page, the baby cricket is greeting by a variety of insects but he
remains silent. Finally, he spies
another cricket and attempts to greet her. "And this time . . . he chirped the most
beautiful sound that she had ever heard."
Readers are then rewarded with a mechanically produced cricket's chirp
as they turn the final page. Typical of
Carle's style, the language is simple, with rhythm, repetition, and
alliteration. The colorful cut-paper
illustrations are classic Carle, full of color and expression. It’s not surprising to find an Eric Carle
book on the list of Buckeye Book Awards.
Carle’s distinctive illustrations and creative stories remain classic
reads for children then and now, making The
Very Quiet Cricket a notable winner of the 1993 Buckeye Book Award.
Ashley, your upcoming 1993 Buckeye Book Award read is Scary Stories 3: More Tales to Chill Your
Bones by Schwartz. I know you
dislike scary stories, so best of luck to you – it’s okay to read it with the
lights on!
Would you like to join Ashley and I as we read through Ohio’s award
winning books? We welcome any and all
who are interested in participating in this fun reading challenge. For more information, click here.
Oh, Eric Carle. I've always loved the paper collage effect in artwork, so I've always been drawn artistically to his books. I have to admit I'm not familiar with this book of his, but the story reminds me a little of Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White -- only the swan still couldn't honk, and had to rely on a trumpet to communicate. I love that you get to hear the actual cricket sound at the end! As you said, it's no surprise that an Eric Carle book was selected by Ohio students as a winner. Adults and kids alike adore his stories and artwork.
ReplyDeleteYes, I have the final Scary Stories book up next! Funny how that happened to land in October...the lights will be on for sure!!