Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2017 i Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens

THERE WAS A fisherman named Isak who lived with his wife, Marit, on a wind-battered, wave-spattered island in the Nordland sea. He was so poor he owned little more than his boat, two goats, and a rugged piece of shore where he grew barley. His hut was made of old boards at which the wind was forever gnawing. Besides that he had five children—Haakon, Lars, Signe, Maria, and Hans—for those are the poor man’s wealth. There was a rich man on the island who must not have felt rich enough, for he coveted Isak’s bit of barley land to use as a harbor for his boats. “Why don’t you sell your land to me and move to the mainland? Find yourself work in Bergen,” the neighbor said. “You know you…

WAY BACK IN the deep and misty reaches of time, when the world was as fresh as a newly washed babe, a family of little people lived in Ireland. So small were they that the tallest among them could walk beneath a horse’s belly without ruffling a single hair. Now, the world was a rougher place back then—full of dangers for those who were small. For safety’s sake, the little people lived in the forests. They dressed in green and developed a knack for disappearing quietly whenever danger threatened. One of the little people, Seamus O’Shaughnessy, was a cheesemaker. With his lovely wife, Kate, he made the finest cheeses to be found in all the Emerald Isle. Five gentle cows gave him milk for his cheeses and cream for his…

First prize 10 and under Alvin Wang, age 10 Temple City, CA Candy Land First prize 11 and up Emma Grace Carroll, age 11 Rogersville, MO Second prize 10 and under Maya Kellett, age 10 Farmington, ME The Winter Birches Second prize 10 and under Ella Martinez Nocito, age 9 Sunderland, MA Second prize 11 and up Miriam Biedler, age 11 Westville, OK The City of Sea Star Second prize 11 and up Katie Missel, age 12 Chatham, IL Second prize 11 and up Lina Martinez Nocito, age 11 Sunderland, MA Third prize 10 and under Bailey Randall, age 8 Birmingham, AL Ocean City Third prize 10 and under Arden Duca, age 7 New York, NY Dessert Land Third prize 10 and under Madison Standifer, age 8 Birmingham, AL The…

Dear Everybuggy, I love your magazine so much! Once, I was looking through old magazines and found one of your very first Cricket mags. I found two more. I loved them so much I got a subscription. Pussywillow is my favorite buggy. But I love everybuggy! (Yes, even Ugly Bird.) My favorite story was “The Girl Who Writes the Future” (November/December 2014–May/June 2015). I play the violin, Irish dance, and love to draw. My favorite books are the Percy Jackson series, Heroes of Olympus series, Wonder, and The Hobbit. I also love Star Wars. Thank you for bringing me joy through this magazine! Ruby Petrie, age 11 Newport, Washington Dear Everybuggy, Your magazine is the coolest ever! My grandmother (we’re Norwegian so we call her Bestamor) loves it so much.…

IN THE MIDDLE of a moonlit night, a young mare gives birth to a foal in the stable of a medieval castle. The mare is deep burgundy in color, and so is her foal, though he has a long, white blaze down his forehead. After only a few minutes the colt struggles to his wobbly legs and begins to nurse. His mother’s milk gives him strength after the struggle of birth while assuring him of a strong immune system for years to come. For the first week the mare and her offspring are kept safely within the confines of the stable. This is to ensure that the colt, now named Rollo by the lord of the castle, is strong and healthy enough to be turned out with the other foals,…

“NOW REMEMBER, IF it gets dark early tonight, you’ll need to go up to the hill pasture right away to bring the sheep down,” Mom said as she slid a pile of documents into her briefcase. She was headed to a town meeting to argue for the library override. “Otherwise, anytime after eight-ish is good.” “Mom, I know,” I said. “I’ve brought the sheep into the barn millions of times. I’ll be fine.” “And be sure to cut any old barbed wire you find,” Mom continued, apparently ignoring me completely. She stashed her cell phone in the briefcase. “I’ve been having troubles with it in that field, coming up out of the dirt. I don’t want anyone getting tangled in it. You’ll need to bring the pliers, just in case.…

Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby Solveig is a Viking princess. In her family, however, she was always the plain, quiet daughter. Her beautiful older sister and brash heir little brother always seemed better than her . . . until war forces them into a tiny fortress with twenty restless warriors to protect them. The winter seems endless, supplies are running low, and there is a traitor—and a pending crisis in their midst. Anna L., age 12 Cranford, New Jersey The Doldrums by Nicholas Gannon Archer B. Helmsley wants to be a great explorer like his grandparents, Ralph and Rachel Helmsley. But what happens when his grandparents float out to sea atop an iceberg? Find out in this really good book! Lovely Alpaca, age 9 Portland, Oregon Chains (The Seeds of…

IF YOU’RE OUT gazing for gargoyles, best look up, way up, and then look out! Why? Simply put, gargoyles spit! Gargoyles are the strange, mythical creatures you sometimes see jutting from the walls of old stone buildings. Carved with open mouths and bizarre, frightening expressions, gargoyles are actually fancy rainspouts. (The name gargoyle is derived, in part, from the French word for throat. Think gargle!) In medieval times, gargoyles on cathedrals and castles served the practical purpose of projecting water away from the stone walls to protect the mortar and foundations from erosion. According to legend, the practice of mounting hideous heads on cathedrals can be traced to a fire-burping dragon named La Gargouille that lived along the River Seine in France during the seventh century. With a…

IN THE EARLY 1900s, fresh cow’s milk was considered the perfect food—safe and nutritious. Yet thousands of people became ill from drinking milk. Their doctors didn’t know what was wrong with them or what had made them sick. Nobody suspected milk. It took a former grade-school teacher to solve the mystery and end the suffering. Born in 1881, Alice Evans grew up in a farming community in northeastern Pennsylvania. Because her family could not afford to send her to college, Alice received only enough formal education to obtain her teaching certificate so she could teach grade school. “Dreams of going to college were shattered by lack of means,” she once said. “Teaching was almost the only profession open to a woman. I had no thought of doing anything else.” After…

WHO DESERVES A place in the Horses’ Hall of Fame? I’d vote to include Bucephalus, the beloved horse of Alexander the Great. And Cincinnati, General Ulysses S. Grant’s black charger, along with Traveller, General Robert E. Lee’s gallant gray mount. And Marengo, the white stallion that Napoleon rode at the fateful Battle of Waterloo, and the Duke of Wellington’s Copenhagen. What about Incitatus? The Emperor Caligula was so crazy about this horse—and just plain crazy, too—that he appointed him to be Rome’s highest officer and gave him an ivory manger and gold water bucket. You might have fun looking up other great steeds who should be in the Horses’ Hall of Fame. In addition to those real, historical animals I just mentioned, there are many that don’t live in stables.…