Christmas cricket / by Eve Bunting ; illustrated by Timothy Bush.

In a California garden on a rainy night, Cricket feels small and worthless. He hops up some steps and finds himself in a place filled with light and warmth and a tall, sparkling tree. He begins to sing but is scared into silence by two voices, one big and one small. It is then that he makes a marvelous discovery. Eve Bunting's text is filled with her customary tenderness and charm, and Timothy Bush has captured its mood in his luminous illustrations. Together they create a memorable holiday book about a cricket who discovers that though he may be small, he is not insignificant.

Author Notes

Eve Bunting was born in 1928 in Maghera, Ireland, as Anne Evelyn Bunting. She graduated from Northern Ireland's Methodist College in Belfast in 1945 and then studied at Belfast's Queen's College. She emigrated with her family in 1958 to California, and became a naturalized citizen in 1969.

That same year, she began her writing career, and in 1972, her first book, "The Two Giants" was published. In 1976, "One More Flight" won the Golden Kite Medal, and in 1978, "Ghost of Summer" won the Southern California's Council on Literature for Children and Young People's Award for fiction. "Smokey Night" won the American Library Association's Randolph Caldecott Medal in 1995 and "Winter's Coming" was voted one of the 10 Best Books of 1977 by the New York Times.

Bunting is involved in many writer's organizations such as P.E.N., The Authors Guild, the California Writer's Guild and the Society of Children's Book Writers. She has published stories in both Cricket, and Jack and Jill Magazines, and has written over 150 books in various genres such as children's books, contemporary, historic and realistic fiction, poetry, nonfiction and humor.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2-Feeling "small and worthless in the bigness of night," Cricket sneaks into a home and onto a Christmas tree, where he begins a song. A child thinks he hears the tree's angel and his dad explains that "angels sing in the songs of birds, and frogs and people and crickets." Hearing this, Cricket realizes he's small, "but not worthless," and he rubs his wings together for joy. Masterfully imbuing a brief moment in a tiny insect's life with significance that resonates for readers of any age, Bunting presents a simple yet touching story for holiday sharing. Vivid watercolor illustrations capture the insect's perspective with drama and humor.-S. P. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publisher's Weekly Review

A cricket who feels "small and worthless in the bigness of night" finds his way into a cheery house and onto a Christmas tree, where his song is mistaken by a child for the voice of an angel. Bunting (see also The Bones of Fred McFee, under "Halloween," and One Candle, under "Hanukkah"), relates this affectionate tale in taut prose, and Bush's cricket's-eye-view watercolors seem almost to glow. In the end, as Cricket gazes at his reflection in the face of a shiny angel ornament, he ponders an adult's comment that angels sing "in the voices of crickets," then realizes that "he was small, then. But not worthless." The cricket's progression from the darkness of night to the luminosity of the revelatory scene underscores his growing sense of wonder. Ages 3-7. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Reviews (2)

School Library Journal Review

Publisher's Weekly Review