The Cricket in Times Square characters

Appears from the start

A resourceful mouse who lives in a disused drainpipe in the Times Square subway station. He knows how to survive on what travelers leave behind and is intensely curious when an unfamiliar chirping reaches his corner of the station.

First appears in chapter 2

The young son of the Bellini family, who help run a small newsstand in the Times Square subway station. Gentle and attentive to animals, he finds a frightened cricket among the papers and decides to care for him.

First appears in chapter 3

A country cricket from Connecticut who is accidentally carried to New York in a picnic basket. The crowded subway is bewildering after the quiet meadow he knows, but Mario's kindness gives him a safe place while he considers how he might ever get home.

First appears in chapter 4

A large alley cat and Tucker's close friend. His friendship with a mouse surprises Chester, but Harry is calm, loyal, and familiar with the city beyond the station.

First appears in chapter 2

Mario's practical mother and one of the owners of the family newsstand. Worried about cleanliness, money, and the survival of the business, she initially regards the cricket as another pest in the subway.

First appears in chapter 2

Mario's father and Mama Bellini's partner at the newsstand. More easygoing than his wife, he is willing to let Mario keep the cricket as long as the boy accepts responsibility for it.

First appears in chapter 6

An elderly shopkeeper in Chinatown who recognizes what kind of creature Mario has found and treats Chester with respect. He shares Chinese traditions about crickets and helps Mario provide the food and surroundings Chester needs.

First appears in chapter 12

A music teacher and regular customer of the Bellinis. His trained ear recognizes that Chester's chirping reproduces real melodies with remarkable accuracy, and he understands that the cricket's gift deserves wider notice.