trying to find a children's book

[SnowyShiloh]

I've always loved books, but I can't remember the title of my favorite children's book. I'm hoping someone here may know which book I'm talking about. I've spent about an hour looking on Amazon and the internet but can't find it. I got the book in a book exchange when I was in first or second grade, so it was in about 1992. It was a kid's picture book and wasn't too thick, the cover was heavy paper. The story was about a little boy who gets a pet cricket and keeps the cricket in a small red cage. He and his friends love the cricket. They like to listen to the cricket sing/chirp and often hang the cage on a tree branch outside so it will sing. One day he lets a little girl take care of the cricket, and she accidentally leaves the cricket's cage hanging out on the tree branch in a rainstorm. The cricket drowns :tears2: The little boy is really upset but he and his friend eventually reconcile.

Does that sound familiar to anyone? If it helps, I think the little boy lived in an abandoned school bus with his parents. Most of the town they live in is flooded and they have to get around in little boats. The colors of the illustrations use a lot of browns and grays. I may be combining more than one story here, I hope not!

 

[SunnyCait]

My gramma is a librarian, let me ask her about it. I don't recognize it, but maybe she will.

 

[GoinBackToCali]

Is it "A PocketFul of Cricket"?

 

[SnowyShiloh]

No, it's not "A Pocketful of Cricket"... It does sound like a cute book though, I read the Amazon description. Thanks for the suggestion though and thanks for asking your grandma, Cait!

 

[SunnyCait]

Mmm she said she hadn't heard of it, but when she goes to work tomorrow she's going to ask the other librarian and take a look around their children's section.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

It wouldn't be Eric Carle, by any chance?

http://www.eric-carle.com/books.html

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Autumn, nope, I checked all his books and it isn't one of them. I think the book was published by Penguin Publishers because if I recall it had their logo on it. I could be mistaken though. I'm going to try to look for it at the Penguin web site.

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Argh The Penguin web site has photos and descriptions of 500 children's books they've published, but they don't list any books before January 1995. The book I'm looking for was published in 1991 or earlier. Frustrating.

 

[RexyRex]

Maggie and the Pirate??

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0590448528/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[SnowyShiloh]

Hooray you found it! The title didn't sound familiar but I knew it was it as soon as I saw the front cover! I guess I was wrong and the main character was a girl, not a boy. Thanks so much for finding it, how did you know? I'm going to go buy the book now. I wonder if I'll like it as much now as I did when I was little... I had so many books when I was little and read all the time, Maggie and the Pirate was my favorite picture book.

 

[RexyRex]

I was an afternoon teacher in a day care when I was in high school. Glad I could help! Speaking of children's books, my favorite is "The Giving Tree". All of my friend's kids get a copy for their 3rd birthdays. Have you read that one?