It was perfect timing that David Hennessey queried us with his book, A Cricket’s Christmas, last week. This time of year I usually enjoy searching Lulu.com for holiday publications, but I’ve somehow let this month get away from me without doing that.  Once I’d read the preview of A Cricket’s Christmas, I immediately wanted to read more and was glad that David provided the manuscript so quickly. And who doesn’t enjoy a good holiday story where the main characters are all animals!

At first glance, I didn’t care much for the book’s cover.  Being a paperback also, I thought the cover was a bit plain.  But after reading the book, I imagined how nice this book would look in hardcover with nice gold embossed letters, maybe even a small cricket embossed on the cover as well.   There is definitely potential here.

The story is told from the point of view of Chirp the cricket who lives with his mother beneath the floorboards of the stable where Jesus will soon be born. Chirp wonders why he can’t climb in the rafters like his spider friends can. I was immediately enamored by the life lesson Hennessey paints early on when Hannah, Chirp’s mother, explains why he can’t climb in the rafters:

“Because,” replied Hannah patiently, “they are spiders and that’s what spiders do.”
“But mom,” Chirp continued impatiently, “why do they get to do it and I can’t? I’m older than they are and bigger. And I can hop farther too.”
“I know,” replied Hannah pleasantly. “But you’re a cricket and must do what crickets do. They are spiders and must do what spiders do.”
“But what can I do?” asked Chirp somewhat frustrated. “I mean, I don’t see anything I can do.”
“Well,” responded Hannah, “some day you will be able to make beautiful music with your wings and that music will make others very happy. You are special and have a wonderful gift to give to others.”
“But I can’t make music now,” stated Chirp in frustration.
“I know,” replied Hannah calmly. “But someday you will and then everyone will want your gift.”

Chirp and his friends are soon caught up in the news of something amazing that is about to happen in their little town, and actually right above Chirp’s home. They decide to journey upwards to get a better look at everything that is happening.  Hennessey paints a nice vision of all of these small animals journeying up to the roof to see the bright shining star in the sky, helping each other and encouraging each other along the way.

Stories like this always remind me of The Incredible Journey, which was one of my favorite books as a kid, or even The Land Before Time. The journey of animals from one place to another for whatever reason, learning life’s lessons (good and bad), along the way is a common theme in children’s literature. The Secret of NIMH was another of my favorites that comes to mind, and of course the classic Watership Down.  Mr. Hennessey definitely does the story justice and I envisioned someone reading this book out loud to children during the holidays.  I’m quite sure their small faces would be filled with wonder.

From the back of a barn swallow, Chirp takes flight to see his little town from above, and the wise men on their journey to see the newborn king. Again, Hennessey gives the reader lots to picture in their mind, and I actually wished there were pictures in the book because there’s definitely an opportunity for illustrations here. The book culminates with the birth of Christ and Chirp learning the life lesson his mother told him in the very beginning, and reminding us that the best gifts come from within ourselves.

The book opens with a nice brief dedication and preface letting the reader know that the story focuses on one we all know, the Holy birth. The author lends his version of it toward fantasy and imagination as he tells the story from the point of view of the cricket named Chirp.  There’s another brief untitled introduction about Jesus just after the table of contents and title page that seems unnecessary and out of place. I’d also like to point out that while there is no right margin justification and there are some page numbering problems (common quick-fix problems for a POD book), I didn’t find these formatting problems to be too distracting from the story itself.

Hennessey definitely weaves a good story and has created a nice holiday book that has great potential.  With another good edit and some formatting work, and possibly even the addition of some small illustrations at the beginning or end of each chapter, A Cricket’s Christmas has the potential to be a Christmas classic.  Well done!