Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2019 i Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens

“Long ago, on the wild and windy isle of Berk, a smallish Viking with a longish name stood up to his ankles in snow.” HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (Book 1) by Cressida Cowell submitted by Lucille S. of Washington, DC “During the third attack, Hazel almost ate a boulder.” THE HOUSE OF HADES (The Heroes of Olympus, Book 4) by Rick Riordan submitted by Lucy B. via Blab About Books, Chatterbox, and by Maria Kroger of Wooster, OH “THEY’LL PROBABLY BE POLITE—CRISP AS A SODA CRACKER ON THE OUTSIDE, HARD AS DAY-OLD BISCUITS UNDERNEATH.” FAITH, HOPE, AND IVY JUNE by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor submitted by Harvest L. via email “ADMIT IT, IF YOU SUDDENLY HAD MAGICAL POWERS, YOU WOULD HAVE TURNED THAT LEFTOVER MEAT LOAF INTO PIZZA, TOO.”…

Dear Cricket, I ask for Cricket magazine every year for one of my birthday presents. I have been getting them for two years and I think they are awesome. Cricket has all sorts of stories I like! Thank you! It’s way better than the little stories I have to read at school. My mom got Cricket when she was little. Now I get them! Eliza Heaberlin, age 10 Pleasant Hill, Iowa P.S. How did Pussywillow become magic? Dear Eliza, Magic just happens. We don’t really know how it came to Pussywillow, but we’re sure glad that it did! Love, Cricket Dear Cricket, I have gotten your mag for over two years now. I have one dog named Pip and two cats named Trinka and Jasper. My favorite books are the…

“TONIGHT,” DADU CLAPS me on the back, “we work, Rahim. We work like men.” Outside the first few stars are beginning to appear. Dadu climbs on his bicycle and chuckles as my friend Aslam and I jog along beside him. “Come on, boys, can’t you keep up with an old man?” The air feels as heavy as a blanket. The monsoon is late this year, and the earth is dry and cracked underfoot. A sweet smell wafts from Mr. Ahmed’s prized mango trees as we pass. Aslam slows his jog, reaches to pick a few mangoes, and crams them into his pockets—just like that, as if Mr. Ahmed couldn’t run out the door at any minute, waving his massive arms. I wish I were as lucky as Aslam with his…

On Princess Lilly’s sixteenth birthday the palace was awash with aunts, uncles, cousins, and, unfortunately, a passel of princes. They were there to vie for her hand, and each wished to be the lucky prince who got to lead her into the ball that evening. Lilly did not want to be vied for. Nor did she want to be fawned over, flattered, or fondly told not to bother her pretty little head about things every time she brought up an interesting topic of conversation. It was a relief to escape to her bedroom with an armful of birthday presents, shaking off the princes who’d offered to carry her parcels as if they were so many persistent puppies hanging on to the hem of her petticoat. She momentarily thought of escaping…

HOW WOULD YOU measure the height of the tallest pyramid in Egypt? Get a big ladder? According to legend, an ancient sage, Thales of Miletus, accomplished the task without climbing a step. Waiting until a time of day when the length of his own shadow was equal to half his height, Thales paced off the shadow of the pyramid, then doubled its length to calculate the pyramid’s height. Born around 624 bc, Thales (pronounced thay-leez) was one of the seven great sages of the ancient world. Little is really known about him. He grew up in Miletus, a busy trading port on the Aegean Sea in what is today Turkey. He probably visited Egypt (where he would have measured the pyramids). Herodotus, a Greek historian, credits Thales with ending a…

Pangolins, sometimes called scaly anteaters, are one of the most illegally trafficked animals in the world. In the past ten years, poaching pangolins for their scales—which are thought to have medicinal, even magical powers—has greatly increased, and pangolins are now relatively scarce in Bangladesh. I can certainly understand why hunters in one of the world’s poorest countries would be tempted to export these animals (it is against the law), but it is terribly sad—akin to the trafficking of rhino horn or elephant tusks in East Africa, since in all cases, the animal is killed in the process. This story is set near where I was born and spent the first years of my life. Pangolins are incredibly fascinating animals, but I have not seen a pangolin since I was a…

“If you ask me,” Liam’s sister announced, “you should pick a practical spell. And nothing dangerous.” Isabella was pointing her fork directly at him when she said this. There was still a bit of pancake stuck between the tines, and it was dripping with syrup. “Leave him alone,” Liam’s father said, without bothering to lower the newspaper that covered his face. “It’s his decision. Not yours.” Liam stared up at the kitchen wallpaper. It was dark blue like the sea on a stormy night. What was he going to do? His fifteenth birthday was only three days away! He needed to make a decision—and soon. His mother smiled at him encouragingly from the counter, but then she turned on the coffee grinder. GRRRRRRRRZZZZZTTT!  The sound made it suddenly impossible to…

First prize 10 and under Saanvi Chari, age 8 Avon, OH Symmetry in Nature Did I really just notice this? Each side of All the flowers In the front Look the same. All of the roses, dandelions, And lavenders, and leaves. I noticed this today While I was walking down The driveway To take the garbage out. I wonder what people call this? I remember learning About this in math! Symmetry. Symmetry in nature! A line of symmetry in nature. First prize 11 and up Zoe Rodriguez, age 12 Waltham, MA Lantern of the Unknown The tiny flame of my lantern shivers with me as it bobs along with my small horse. The sound of hooves in the dirt calms me as I tremble, buried under a bundle of clothes,…