Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens April 2015

Joseph Daniel Fiedler, or Scaryjoey as many know him, fills sketchbooks with paintings of lettuce leaves and trees, salamanders and turtles. He is a keen observer of the animals that thrive in the woods surrounding his rural home in Northern California, including the silver foxes that live in the forest behind. Fiedler was born and raised in Pennsylvania and has lived in Tokyo, New Mexico, Michigan, and California. Since 1973 he has made his living as an artist/illustrator/educator. He fuses his philosophy and love of nature into illustrations for clients that include the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Tufts Medical Center, New Orleans Magazine, the San Francisco Chronicle Magazine, and Arizona Highways. He has received many professional awards, and his paintings have been shown in over seventy-five gallery…

Dear Everybuggy, I am a gigantic fan of your mag! Cricket, you deserve to be leader and you rule. Ladybug, I know everybuggy says this, but stop being so bossy. Pussywillow, you are my fave buggy! I guess I shouldn’t call you buggy, but you are still my fave. Muffin, I love books, too. And Ugly Bird, stop trying to eat the bugs! I love art, books, the beach, space exploration, baseball, and nature. I write my own stories and love to explore. My fave place is nature, and I am a Save-the-Earth fanatic. I also love little farmers’ markets and spend every Saturday morning at the one in our city. I explore, get a cinnamon roll and lemonade, then explore some more and pet the goats from the goat…

MY BIG BROTHER , Joshua, is not like my friends’ brothers. He’s fourteen years old, he goes to a special school, and he has Down syndrome. Usually he is OK to get along with, but sometimes he gets angry and yells and throws things. I guess he’s just upset because he can’t do all the stuff that I do, and about people having a go at him—teasing him—at times. But I want to tell you how I found out that Joshua could do something no one else could do. Dad and I used to go everywhere together, like football and Cubs, and Grandpa went everywhere with Joshua. Grandpa taught him to fish and to play the bugle. These are the only things that Joshua does well. I can’t catch fish…

ANZAC BISCUITS (cookies are called “biscuits” in Australia) are very popular in Australia and New Zealand, especially on Anzac Day, April 25. During World War I, women on the home front would send these sweet treats to the soldiers fighting on faraway battlefields in Europe. Because they contain no eggs—which were scarce during the war—the biscuits kept well on the long ocean voyage. What You’ll Need: 1 cup flaked oatmeal 1 cup flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup coconut 1/2 cup melted butter (4 ounces) 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon golden syrup* 2 tablespoons boiling water What to Do: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 2. Mix oatmeal, flour, sugar, and coconut in a large bowl. 3. Stir syrup into melted butter. 4. Dissolve baking soda in boiling water and…

Lily’s Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff In summer 1944, war is raging in Europe. In Rockaway, New York, Lily meets a mysterious Hungarian boy who has secrets sown into his coat and acts suspiciously like a spy. Lily helps him save and care for a kitten, and they slowly build an unbreakable friendship. But Lily tells a lie that could cost them both their friendship and Albert’s life. This book is a timeless classic I will always treasure. Corina H., age 12 New York, New York The Amulet series by Kazu Kibuishi If you want a book that’s good, and I mean really good, I would recommend the Amulet books. They’re graphic novels about a girl and her brother, named Emily and Naven, who after moving to a new house…

MY MASTER HAS been working on his speeches all night. While I have been guarding the gate, he has been in the house, coming up with fancy ways to tell people to leave Rome. Sometimes I feel like shouting, “Just say, ‘Go away!’” That won’t do for Marcus Tullius Cicero, the highest elected official in Rome. Not enough words. I know about his long words. Cicero bought me to be his scribe. But he recites too fast for me. I have to leave out words so I can keep up. Sometimes he calls me an idiot and makes me copy over, grumping about the cost of paper. Yesterday, he said I’d never amount to anything and sent me out to be the gatekeeper. I am not ashamed. I can write,…