George Selden Thompson; Children’s Author

George Selden Thompson, 60, who delighted youngsters with his tale of “The Cricket in Times Square” and won the prestigious John Newberry Medal. Thompson wrote under the name George Selden, principally for children between the ages of 7 and 10. A native of Hartford, Conn., and a graduate of Yale University, Thompson wrote two plays and more than 15 books. But he was best-known for his book “The Cricket in Times Square, the story of a cricket named Chester who rides from the country to New York on a subway and befriends a young boy. The book won the Newberry medal for literature in 1961 and was made into an animated film in 1973. In New York City on Tuesday of a gastrointestinal hemorrhage.