The Very Quiet Cricket

Our toddler is obsessed with the hungry caterpillar so we wanted to try some other Eric Carle books. This one is fun because it build to the end, and then when you open the last page, there are cricket sounds. It’s been a big hit.

I bought this board book for the 4-year-old I babysit. This book has repetion that kids will like, and they can learn about various animals. The 4-year-old likes it when we read this together, though the vocabulary for kids reading on their own would be up to 2nd grade.

In a world that increasingly encourages everyone to share their thoughts at all times, this cricket takes a different approach. I respect that. The story is charming, beautifully illustrated, and delivers its message with warmth and humor. It also serves as a refreshing reminder that not every creature feels the need to make its presence known immediately.

Perhaps my review is swayed by my experience with this book and my oldest son- but I think we had that experience because of the book. Reading this book together was by the far the BEST experience we've ever had with a book to date. :-) I ordered this book as I've ordered several Eric Carle books in the past; with mixed results. We always enjoy the artwork and find positive messages in the books, but occasionally I find myself changing certain words or phrases as I feel they have unintended perceptions (see my review of the Tiny Seed, for example). But from the first page of this book, we both understood the little cricket's struggle to chirp. And his not giving up attitude is right on for my 3 year old who wants to be a big boy but is finding things are difficult- like putting shoes on the right foot and tying them, learning how to write his name, etc. And the theme of trying to do something over and over and getting "no sound" is something he feels too. The book has a repetitive pattern- the young cricket meets different characters and tries to say hello by rubbing his legs together but to no avail. At the end of each encounter, three sentences are repeated. The first sentence is a longer one, the next two are shorter and simple. Something about this arrangement allowed my son to quickly recognize the repetition by the second time. In fact, although he tends not to interact with repeat phrases in other books, he picked up on and repeated this one with me every time. And wanted to read it again and say the phrase every time. And the tone of the book somehow encourages the reader to feel that we are indeed leading up to something happening. I knew this book had a sound at the end but I had been careful not to let my boys hear it or play with the book at first. So as we repeated the phrase and the quiet cricket kept trying to chirp, the sense that we were leading up to something was in the air. As we turned to the last page, when the cricket finally meets another cricket and something happens, the chirping began. And the way my son's eyes lit up was priceless. He's always loved books and reading, but this was extremely special. To see him SO excited by the entire experience was worth every penny. I hope you can have a similar experience with your child. :-)

It doesn't work it has a Goodwill sign on it and it's in really poor condition

Great little book. Ready to read and fun for the toddlers. Sounds are entertaining.

Great gifts for children in family.

We're a huge fan of Eric Carle in our house and my son loves all his books. We read one every night starting from The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the Mixed up Chameleon. The very Quiet Cricket book is another great story with a not so quiet cricket sound at the end of the book. There is a built in speaker which plays cricket noises. Its pretty loud and there is no volume control. My son throws a fit if we close the book to stop the cricket sound. Neat idea but not the best when the wife and I are exhausted at the end of the day.

Favorite book for young children Great baby shower gift

My children love the chirping sound of the cricket and the repetitions to improve sentence building. Highly recommend it.

Another beautiful book by Eric Carle, same lovely illustrations as others he has done. Great having the sound effect at the end and the fact it has replaceable batteries is good! Really enjoyed it and anyone who liked the hungry caterpillar and the spider one and the sloth one will like the repetitive nature of this too, I know some say it's not as good as the hungry caterpillar, but I think it is in a different way. The hungry caterpillar has just had lots of hype over the years and whilst I love it I think lots of Eric Carle stuff is just as good but not given as much credit. Buy at the bargain price on Amazon and enjoy!

Highly recommend it for toddlers and very young kid. The sound in the end is like a magical ending to the lovely book

Libro arrivato integro e funzionante sull'ultima pagina col sonoro. Una bella sorpresa non conoscendolo. A mia figlia è piaciuto molto!