Anne Hunter’s watercolor and ink illustrations of Cricket Song softly portray two different continents and the ocean connecting them. Through story and pictures, Hunter reminds readers of the interconnected magic between people, animals, and Earth. Commonly, young children, by nature, are egocentric, and Cricket Song gently portrays the world as bigger than our home, yard, and gently encourages us to imagine beyond what we can even see.
The story begins with a child being lulled to sleep by the song of crickets, whose song blends with the “kreck kreck kreck” frogs and the calls of the poorwill. This interconnectedness continues by way of smell and sound through one continent, over and ocean, and into the sleeping room of a child far away on another continent. Hunter gifts the reader with an additional panel of illustration on the bottom of each page aimed to reveal the bigger picture giving a “zoom in” “zoom out” effect. Each page turn begs for conversation and noticings much like a “seek and find” favorite.
Cricket Song is sure to appeal to animal lovers. Curious children will want to learn more about the animals Hunter carefully places on each page. The story is a reminder to young writers to use their senses as they write to help their reader create strong mental images vivid settings. Hunter’s illustrations add a layer of story creating synergy between text and picture. This is the kind of book children can use when they are looking to add pictures that can enhance their writing. The use of onomatopoeia for the songs of many animals is made clear to the reader with italicised text. Themes of cultural diversity and interconnectedness offer a multitude of opportunities for talk.
Mentor Text Ideas: Illustrations, onomatopoeia, Using Senses for Visualization
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