Bookverdict.com

Gr 3–5—Bouncy little poems skitter across the illustrated pages as Murray celebrates bugs, from walking sticks to dung beetles. Her fruit flies "stage an invasion and vanish like snow," her mosquitoes are "ready and eager," and her grasshoppers are "built with precision and speed." Sweet's gra...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Twenty-nine common insects and arachnids (from ants to spiny-back spiders) are on display in Murray's lively poems and Sweet's inviting mixed-media illustrations. The titular cricket opens the proceedings in a poem mimicking an elusive cricket's unpredictable chirping: "Cricket in the thicket, cricket. / Cricket in the house, cricket. / Cricket in the bedroom, not as quiet as a mouse, cricket... / Cricket, / Cricket, / Cricket, / Cricket. / Where are you?" The poems employ a variety of forms and rh...Log In or Sign Up to Read More