Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens

THE FAMILY HAD to escape. In no time his father, a violinmaker, had securely strapped a violin in its case to Moshe’s back and carried another in the same way. Moshe’s mom held the baby while his father took his little brother by the hand and led them away from the town. They brought some food and water and ran without speaking into the cold black of the forest, leaving everything else behind. Sparks spat high into the starless night, and people nearby screamed. The troops had arrived. Moshe heard angry male voices shouting and dogs barking. When he was a toddler, a German shepherd had bitten him on the face. The barking so close by terrified him. He grazed a tree trunk and fell, scraping the case on his…

Outlaws of Time: The Legend of Sam Miracle by N. D. Wilson Do you like outlaws? Magic? Then try this. Ever since Sam Miracle got in a “car crash,” he can’t bend his arms and now lives at a ranch for destitute youth in Arizona. After he and Glory (the camp director’s daughter) are killed, they are brought back to life by a priest, Father Tiempo, and everything changes. Together, Sam and Glory fight the evil El Buitre with Time on their side to save the world from him. Henry Heerema, age 10 Las Cruces, New Mexico Better Nate Than Ever by Tim Federle I read a book about a boy named Nathan (Nate) going to New York City to perform in E.T.: The Musical. (It is not real, so…

WINNERS JANUARY 2018 STORY CONTEST Surprising Friendship First prize 10 and under Simran Gandhi, age 7 Bowling Green, OH Unexpected Friends I think you already know my best friend and me. Let me tell you a little bit about us. I would say that we are pretty different. For example, our looks. I’m tall and thin, and my friend is short and chubby. I think we both look great. I like to think about creative ideas. I love to draw and write. My best friend thinks that my work needs improvement. So, we often argue. Did you know that he sometimes stamps out all my hard work? It sometimes makes me feel frustrated, mad, and miserable. But I don’t mind that much because I know that he is just trying…

Hi, Everyone! Earth Day, April 22, is a day about taking care of the environment. I can pick up trash in my neighborhood and warn people about the bad effects of driving cars too often. My birthday may be on Earth Day, but I think that helping out the environment and being outside is more effective than staying inside and celebrating. I hope people post their ideas and try these ideas. Gaby F., age 11 New Jersey Down to Earth, Chatterbox I totally agree with you, Gaby, about the environment. I wish people would pollute less and think about what they’re doing to the Earth before they do it. I try to recycle stuff like yogurt cups. I rinse things like that and put them in the recycling bin. Also,…

TAKE A FEW dozen pieces of wood. Fit them together in just the right way and you’ll have—a violin. The typical instrument has about 68 parts (no nails, only glue). The richly varnished front and back, the scroll at the top, the gracefully carved f-holes are a delight to the eye. But the unseen inner construction is equally essential. I think the most vital part is a modest little pinewood cylinder standing inside between back and belly near the bridge: the sound post. Without it, the violin would be practically speechless. The sound post brings the voice to life. To make a violin, you’ll need special equipment: scrapers, borers, tiny curved planes, files, some 70 tools in all. The painstaking handwork hasn’t changed over the past 400 years. The result…

I GULPED AS a huge tree limb raced by in the current ahead of our canoe in the river. “Water’s fast, Jude.” My cousin glanced at the Delaware. “We can handle it. You scared, Ben?” Jude sat in the stern of the canoe to steer. He liked to be in command, and it was his canoe. The problem was he needed to listen to the bowman. Me. Unconsciously, I tightened my life jacket. Jude’s grin ate away at my confidence, making the morning’s breakfast flop in my stomach. “No. The canoe might be harder to control today, that’s all.” From years of canoeing, we knew our strong sides. I paddled right; Jude took the left. We glided into the sweeping current in the middle of the river. Our fathers had…

LONG AGO, IN the unhappy village of Chelm, there lived a wise, old rabbi. All the Chelmites were unhappy because they thought their neighbors had better lives then they. So, day and night, the envious townsfolk would set upon their rabbi to kvetch—that is, bellyache; that is, gripe; that is, complain—about their lot. Before the rabbi could even raise a spoonful of breakfast to his lips, the baker would burst into his house for a morning’s kvetch. “They say my bagels aren’t crispy! Of course, my bagels aren’t crispy! I know my bagels aren’t crispy! Tell me, Rabbi, how can I make crispy bagels when all I’ve got is a hundred-year-old oven that’s really an icebox! The czar’s heart is warmer than my oven! And how can I afford a…

the elegant grand pianostands resplendent in the parlorit is a dormant creaturea simple touch brings it to life lift the polished ebony coverexpose the yellowing ivory keysthat resemble gleaming teeththey grin stretch for the pedalsposition hands with poise begin fingers fly across the grinning mouthtouches as soft as hummingbird feathersthen hard as stone sharp notes pierce the mindlight and sweet chords followthey vibrate through your skullhum in your ears eyes closed in concentrationhead swaying to the rhythmic pulsationof fingers pressing keys peer at the black script of noteslining the musiclike a secret languageyou’ve learned to decipher sharp, then flatD major, C minorindividual notes and chords blendinto a beautiful concoction of sound sonatas, preludesall are vehicles for the glorious melodyof a grand piano once the grandiose instrumenthas ensnared you with its…

Fifteen-year-old Nodi longs to go on raids with his pirate father, Polyonus, but his lameness is a drawback. Even though his father says, “Maybe next time,” Nodi is frustrated at always having to stay behind with his mother, Mana, and his sister, Sara. Several others live on the pirates’ island as well, working together as one large family. Polyonus and his crew, Alec and Petri, launch their raids from a secluded cove. Out in the water, they board Roman ships, taking prisoners and plunder. One stormy day, the pirates return with four captives. One is a cocky Roman boy named Gaius Julius Caesar. With him are an older Greek physician and two Gallic slaves. While the others unload the plunder, Polyonus takes time to speak with Geron, his first captain,…