First, we’re having a GREAT time with the One School-One Book program…. Getting “thank you” notes from parents already about how it’s “forcing” some family reading time that they seemed to have lost over the years.
— Paul Marinko - Principal at St. Paul's Lutheran School - Fort Wayne, IN
Since last spring, our entire school has excitedly embraced the One School, One Book Program. We will soon begin our spring selection: A Cricket in Times Square -- the third book we've adopted since the spring of 2010!

We are so thrilled with the positive impact this program has had on our students, families, and staff
— Laurie LaRue - First Grade Teacher at Edgewood School - Bristol, CT
I think the OSOB program is brilliant. My seven year-old attends Orleans Elementary in Massachusetts and they (we) are reading Masterpiece. Since the grades levels range from one to five at this school, finding a book to suit all is difficult. My daughter can follow the big picture somewhat but we have to reinforce what we’ve read because it’s a lot to take in for her.
— Glenn Krzeminski - Parent of student at Orleans Elementary - Orleans, MA
The One District, One Book program promoted by Read To Them...is a powerful way to systemically address and promote a culture of literacy throughout the entire school system.

My school actually adopted a hamster and even used it as “pet therapy” for many of the behaviorally challenged children in our school.
— Kenny Moles of West Virginia

A Cricket in Times Square

Also Available in Spanish

by George Selden

An oldie but goodie. A Cricket in Times Square boasts three different animal protagonists – a mouse and a cat who are scrounging partners and live in Grand Central Station, and the cricket from Connecticut who arrives to enliven their lives. But there’s also the boy, Mario (and his family), who befriends and cares for the cricket in his new, foreign environment. Beside its charming characters, A Cricket in Times Square has little that is threatening or scary or unsettling for younger children. Mario and Chester Cricket do have some challenges to solve, but they do so with fortitude and panache. And like The Trumpet of the Swan, A Cricket in Times Square is filled with music that makes the story soar and takes it to strange unexpected places. And along the way, there are brief, eccentric moments of wisdom offered by a Chinatown shopkeeper and a New York Times music critic. All of which explains why A Cricket in Times Square has been charming families for 50 years. That’s what you call a timeless classic.

There are eight supplementary resources for George Selden’s A Cricket in Times Square:

a sample letter home to parents
a sample reading schedule
a trivia bank (w/ Answer Key)
sample assembly ideas
a list of suggested activities
a song list

As a participating member of One School, One Book you may have access to all of these documents. Here are some samples: