Little Cricky was born of a desire to teach entomology to children in a way that would appeal to them more than the classical methods. The book had six editions since it first appeared in bookstores in 1956 in Europe, Romania. It has been translated in English for the first time in 2006, in an effort to offer the same entomology lesson to the kids on the North American continent. Domnita Georgeoscu Moldoveanu, the author of the original Romanian book, passed away happy for having left behind her this minidictionary of insects that can easily raise kids’ interest in the world of the creepy-crawly creatures. Along a beautiful adventure story full of values, kids meet the longhorn beetle, the ants and bees, the bumblebee, the rose chafers, just to name a few. With the help of an adult they can then recognize these insects in the beautiful pictures the book displays on every page, and then take it a step further and go in the garden to meet them for real!

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You have to watch the expression of a child’s face after you read them the book and take them in the garden to have them listen to the crickets’ “violins”! It is priceless! Or see them pointing at a bug in the garden saying: “Look! The bug from my book!”.

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After fulfilling its pedagogical mission, the book became so wanted among children that six editions were all sold out in Romania, year after year. And that was simply because the story captivates every kid! The adventures of the little cricket in its quest for the lost violin keep children wanting to get to the end of it, a happy end where all the insects celebrate what they accomplished together through friendship and courage. 

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Kids can also learn the sense of community from this short story in verse, and how they can ask for help anywhere around them when in need. Father Sun and his daughters, the little rays, help Cricky achieve his goal, and all the little insects do what they can to rebuild Cricky’s destroyed violin! And they do not forget to party together at the end and celebrate their success!

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Let’s accompany Little Cricky in its difficult, but beautiful trip! Read it to your children with passion: they will ask you to read it to them again and again, like my child did!

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- Liliana Hoton, translator of Little Cricky