“The Very Quiet Cricket” 
by Eric Carle

June is a delightful time of year. It’s also the time when
lots of wonderful insects come out to play! Young
children are fascinated by all kinds of insects (and 
spiders) and love to read and sing about them!

My very favorite book about an insect is “The Very
Quiet Cricket.” Of course it’s filled with gorgeous 
Eric Carle illustrations, but the text also has a (very
quiet) charm.

As the cricket meets an older cricket and other
colorful bugs, they greet him with their own distinctive
sounds. But when the little cricket rubs his wings
together to reply, “nothing happened. Not a sound.”

I ask my students to help me make the various
sounds of the insects. When it’s time to be the 
cricket, we rub our palms together. (Since this does
produce a tiny noise, I change the wording in the
book to “it hardly made a sound.”)

The ending of the book holds a special surprise.
The cricket meets a nice girl cricket and this
time, (by electronic magic when the page is opened)
he produces a lovely chirp! The children are always
enchanted.

I love the musical possibilities of this story, as well
as the portrayal of insects as beautiful and interesting
creatures.