The Cricket in Times Square — Chapter 3

About This Passage

Selden gives us a small tour of Tucker's home mid-story. Notice how every object in the drain pipe is real and specific — not 'things' but papers, scraps, buttons, lost jewelry, small change. The list teaches that a character's home can be characterized by the specific objects they collect, and that a cheerful narrator can describe disorder ('Neatness was not one of the things he aimed at in life') with warm affection rather than judgment. Tucker's nest tells us who Tucker is before a single word of dialogue is spoken in this scene.

Narration Prompt

Retell Chapter 3 with attention to three movements: Tucker's sneak-up to the newsstand, the sharing of liverwurst, and Chester's Connecticut backstory. Which movement do you think is the most important for building the friendship between Tucker and Chester — and why?

Discussion Questions

1. Selden introduces Chester Cricket with a description of his voice: 'He had a high, musical voice. Everything he said seemed to be spoken to an unheard melody.' What does this small detail — 'an unheard melody' — tell you about the kind of creature Chester will be in the story, and how does it differ from the way Tucker Mouse has been characterized?
2. Tucker races home to his drain pipe and brings Chester a piece of liverwurst he had been saving for his own breakfast. The narrator calls meeting a cricket 'a special occasion,' and Tucker then breaks the liverwurst in two and gives Chester 'the bigger one.' What does this sequence of small choices show about how Tucker understands friendship?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide