[ 책 소개 ]

어느 날 연못가에서 개구리로부터 이 세상에서 가장 못생겼다는 놀림을 받은 귀뚜라미는 아름다운 나비가 되고 싶어 합니다. 애벌레와 무당벌레, 잠자리에게 어떻게 하면 나비가 될 수 있는지 도움을 청하지만 모두들 해답을 주지 못합니다. 하지만 오래된 친구인 거미는 귀뚜라미가 자신의 아름다움을 스스로 발견할 수 있도록 도움을 주지요. 귀뚜라미가 자신은 못생기지 않은 것은 발견하고 아름다운 기쁨의 노래를 부를 때, 지나가던 나비는 이 소리를 듣고 나도 귀뚜라미가 되었으면 좋겠다고 생각을 합니다...

Seven Blind Mice, Lon Po Po, The Emperor and the kite 등으로 세차례 Caldecott 상을 수상한 Ed Young은 마치 곤충들의 눈으로 바라보듯이 세상의 모습을 몽상적으로 아름답게 그렸습니다.






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[ 서지 정보 ]

Edition: Paperback, 40 PAGES
ISBN-10: 0152380132
ISBN-13: 9780152380137
책 크기 : 28cm x 25.5cm



[ 영문 서평 ]

Book Description
Amid the tinted foliage and tangled undergrowth of a waning season, day breaks on Swampswallow Pond. But while most of the crickets fiddle happily at their music and passersby go about their business, the littlest cricket struggles with a mighty problem. Forced to question his identity, he seeks counsel and reassurance from a very special friend. Wisdom blows softly as dandelion seed through this miniature world brilliantly magnified with delicate words and shimmering strokes. James Howe and Ed Young work together in perfect harmony to create a story with a spirit as refreshing as childhood itself.


Publisher's Weekly
After the frog at the pond's edge tells him that he's ugly, the cricket of Swampswallow Pond loses his zest for life and for singing. The glowworm and the ladybug try to persuade the cricket that he's just as good as the rest of them, while the dragonfly declares, ``Wishing is a waste of time.'' Finally, the Old One, a spider who lives on the other side of the pond, spins a wise tale about the real beauty of friendship and convinces the cricket to sing again. The author tells the familiar story of the loss of identity and the uniqueness of individuals in a wistful, not particularly fresh, way. While Howe gives insects a human dimension, Young perceives that world with the eye of a cricket or a dragonfly, noting the color variations and luster on that particular wavelength. The resultant paintings are extraordinary, almost abstract works, much worthier of praise than this oft-told tale.


Children's Literature
The littlest cricket does not want to make music and he can't tolerate hearing the sounds of all the other crickets fiddling. Don't they know they are ugly? The frog living at the edge of the pond told the littlest cricket how ugly he is, and now the cricket wants to be a beautiful butterfly. He tries to explain his problem to the glowworm, the ladybug, and the dragonfly, but they all refuse to offer him any sympathy. Finally he decides to seek counsel with the Old One, the spider in her web on the other side of the pond. The spider convinces the cricket that they are two beautiful friends and, as she spins her web, she mentions how nice it would be to have music while she works. The littlest cricket begins to fiddle and a butterfly passing by thinks the music is beautiful and says, "I wish I were a cricket." The illustrations are wonderful-done in pastel by an award-winning artist.


School Library Journal
In the cleanest, clearest prose he's written to date, Howe tells a simple fable that deserves to stay in print a long, long, time. The littlest cricket is so miserable that he refuses to make music because the frog called him ugly. He wishes he were a butterfly instead. When he sees the wise old spider, she tells him what she thinks of him and what she has learned in her spider's life ``spinning and waiting, waiting and spinning.'' He finally feels beautiful, and of course, he is. He begins to fiddle again, and a butterfly, hearing, says, ``I wish I were a cricket.'' Young's shimmering pastels create an insect's view, moving from the cricket's dark jungle of grass with flashes of sun, to light from the butterfly's viewpoint. An excellent lap book, the story also tells well. The cricket is Everychild who stopped the music because someone criticized casually, thoughtlessly. It takes a wise friend to bring the music back, if it's possible. This book could help.