The cricket and his great adventure

"Newspaper! Newspaper" yelled Mario. He was a six-year-old boy who liked helping his parents run their small family-owned newspaper stand in underground of Times Square. It was a nasty place. There were more people than rats where they all coexisted in a great rush. One might wonder how they don't fall off the subway platform when passing Mario's stand in the middle of it. Garbage and coal-like dirt as well as dried-out stepped-on chewing gums that became a part of cement gave it a special city charm. Among all those rapid shoes, voices and train squeals it's surreal that people accepted that chaos as their everyday reality.

At the same time, far from all that very important and arrogant commotion, there was a place filled with blossomed trees, wide sheets of grass, flowers, clean skies and friendships - all basking in the Sun. Laughter filled the air carried out by picnickers who stretched on their blankets and enjoyed the tasty goodies of their picnic baskets. No one noticed when a gentle little cricket jumped in one of them, driven by delicious smell. This is where the little hero's story begins.

The Newbery Honor book "The cricket in Times Square," depicts a story of great friendships. It is also a story of immigrants where the second and third generations of Italians as well as the first generation of Chinese make their daily survival in New York City - world's symbolic capital of immigrants. Readers face the possibility of stereotyping, profiling and prejudice against the portrayal of its characters with the positive verdict: the stories delineate them with respect.

Chester the cricket filled his tiny tummy with the food from the basket and fell asleep. When he woke up he realized he was stuck inside, felt so much motion, and heard a lot of strange noises. Little did he know that he was carried all the way from beautiful nature of Connecticut to one of the most dangerous and busiest cities in the world in 1950's, and specifically, to the heart of New York City - Times Square. If that wasn't enough, he finally managed to escape his temporal accidental imprisonment and found a sanctuary inside Mario Bellini's stand. Amidst all the fear his little pounding heart had to endure, he turned out to be very lucky. Mario found him and caught him - but Mario was one of the sweetest boys in the world. He immediately adopted Chester as his pet and decided to care of him as his new best friend.

Parents were puzzled with his choice but digressed. Mario's dad was a sweet man while it was nice to see Mario's mom as a head of a family who gave her permission but set up certain conditions. One might notice a strong stereotype of an Italian household, where a woman stands as its head, which in a world of inequality is very welcomed. While meeting his new host family and familiarizing with the new strange environment without the Sun or anything "normal," Chester was monitored by two pairs of eyes.

When Bellini family finally left for the day, the eyes finally came out to introduce themselves and meet Chester who appeared very unusual to them, but handsome as well with his clean, smooth, shiny, pitch black, perfect complexion. Tucker the mouse and Harry the cat turned out to be very friendly. They gasped while listening to Chester's incredible story. They also decided to help little cricket to alleviate his anxiety and find a way to send him back to his home.

So many lessons of sacrifice in the story where laziness never stood a chance. Mario decided to go all the way across the city to find someone who might help him to learn how to take care of his little friend. A warm and a wise Chinese man gave him some great insight and taught him some wonderful mythology. Tucker and Harry risked their lives and spared their food for Chester's well being. Chester worked hard to save Mario's livelihood with his music, no matter how exhausting, or at times, how scary it was.

Every time I imagine them interacting with each other with so much caring, respect, compassion, great interest and constant thinking how to help - where one jumps to work without any trace of hesitation - brings tears to my eyes. 

Even though Tucker and Harry were poor and on alert for their lives every single day, they would give their heart and soul to Chester who regarded them in the same way. It was also so beautiful when Mario expressed over and over his strong empathy and realized at the end it was a time for Chester to go home; all three of them wanted Chester to be happy, no matter how much sadness his departure would bring them. But he had to go to restore his smile. And he did.

Don't be sad dear readers. For those of us who tasted the pain of parting this is a very hard subject. Just because the book finished here it doesn't mean the story didn't continue. 

Alternative ending. It took Harry and Tucker nearly one year to plan their trip to visit Chester. A big orange male cat and an unpleasant looking rat couldn't just sneak on a train like adorable tiny cricket.  They boarded a freight train and hid near a bulk material that nobody cared about. They recognized the scenery Chester described! They hopped off, clumsily and dangerously, but landed safely. It didn't take long to hear Chester's amazing music that made him a wonder and celebrity in Times Square. He had made the news! They all tried to hide their tears when they spotted each other.

It turned out a family closest to Chester's tree sought a cat and Harry was quickly adopted. Chester also instructed Tucker about a warm cozy hole at the bottom of his tick and hundreds of years old tree. He wasn't allowed to go anywhere near Harry's new house and risk to be seen; Harry and Chester would provide for him. They celebrated many Thanksgivings together. Harry and Tucker wondered, "Why we didn't leave Times Square for this paradise a long time ago?"