Simms Sylvanus is nine years old and enormously wise. He knows more about volcanoes than his father knows about business and more about electromagnetic fields than anyone in his class. His ideas to improve things are amazing! Yet nobody - not even his parents - will listen to him. A cricket is living a solitary life beneath the floorboards in Simms room. His bride-to-be has left him after a fight, and in his loneliness he turns for companionship to the other creatures who live underground. Soon he finds himself deeply involved in their struggle for survival. Everything changes one winters day when Simms and Cricket discover they can communicate with each other. Through Morse code, the two tell of their troubles, listen to each others ideas, and together learn that its sometimes difficult to do the right thing. Reissued with charming new illustrations, this beloved classic is sure to delight a new generation of readers.