ALA Booklist (Fri May 01 00:00:00 CDT 1998)

for reading aloud. Although the book begins with crickets chirping on a summer evening, its scope quickly broadens. Readers will not only learn the purpose of the chirping sound, who makes it, and how it is made, they will also discover a great deal more about the anatomy, life cycle, habits, and habitats of crickets. Clear and detailed, the ink-and-watercolor artwork is often visually striking as well as educationally sound. The book concludes with tips on catching and observing a cricket, directions for telling the temperature by the speed of the chirps, and instructions for a couple of cricket-related activities. A well-rounded introduction. (Reviewed May 1, 1998)

Horn Book (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

In Valkyrie Cain's third adventure, she and skeletal mentor Skulduggery continue to negotiate the complicated politics of their magical underground society while maintaining Valkyrie's double life and, of course, saving the planet. The plot twists are thrilling and nonstop, and the world-building continues to deepen.

Kirkus Reviews

To human listeners, cricket songs announce that summer can't last forever; their evening chirps forecast falling leaves, cooler temperatures, and the start of school in the not-so-distant future. But for crickets, chirping is the mating song of male crickets, rubbing their front wings together, which females "hear" through membranes on their knees. These familiar insects seem a natural subject for the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series; Berger (How Life Began, 1991, etc.) describes their life cycles and their basic anatomy in an accessible, lively way. Lloyd's pictures are large and colorful; captions point out the knee ears and the sound-producing parts of the wings. Easy projects are included, as is a tidy formula for figuring out the temperature from the number of cricket chirps per minute. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-9)

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2--A general introduction to the physical characteristics, life cycle, and behavior of this insect. The text is clear and simple but the sentences are occasionally choppy. The full-page, rainbow-hued watercolors are accurately rendered and do a good job of representing the text. Readers' curiosity is sure to be piqued by the inclusion of interesting facts (a cricket's chirping can be used to determine the temperature outside). A final section offers suggestions for making a model, jumping like a cricket, and playing a "Do You Know?" game. An attractive title that will enhance nature collections.--Michele Snyder, Chappaqua Public Library, NY