Original large painted image of a circus monkey riding a pony, depicted exactly as these characters appear in the Haders' book CRICKET, but in a different pose not used in the final book. CRICKET follows the life of the titular character beginning with his growing fame in the circus, as depicted here. The final book includes illustrations in black and white and in color, and on a much smaller scale than this large color study. The image in the book that most resembles it, a black-and-white tailpiece on page 48, is a fraction of the size, and depicts the two characters in the act of running rather than standing. This ephemeral study is an unusual survival documenting the kind of preparation that goes into an illustrated book project, showing how such preliminary labor is eventually translated into the final product. One rolled sheet of brown poster paper, painted in color by the Haders. Significant wear, closed tears and chipping to edges of sheet, with some sections of loss. Else color