Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2024 i Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens

“The song from the woods first called to me on a bright June morning while I sat on the back porch swing rereading my favorite cookbook.” MIDSUMMER’S MAYHEM by Rajani LaRoccasubmitted by Iris D. via email “NEARLY EVERYONE AT THE MERRYTRAILS ORPHANAGE FOR GIRLS AGREED: ABRAXAS WAS NOT A GOOD CAT.” THE LOCK-EATER by Zack Loran Clark submitted by The Elephant Spirit via Blab About Books, Chatterbox “The house looked strange.” TANGERINE by Edward Bloorsubmitted by Arjun Mathur of Fremont, CA “It was difficult, later, to think of a time when Betsy and Tacy had not been friends.” BETSY-TACY (Betsy-Tacy, Book 1) by Maud Hart Lovelacesubmitted by Eden Hitchcock of Brandon, SD “Coraline discovered the door a little while after they moved into the house.” CORALINE by Neil Gaimansubmitted by Milly Sunstar via Blab About…

“EARTH TO KEVIN. Did you hear what I said?” The band director was looking right at me. So was everyone else. “Yes, ma’am. Robin broke her arm so you want me to do the solo at the concert.” “Right. You can choose what you want to play as long as it’s in our music. Just let me know what you’ll be playing by the end of the day tomorrow.” Denying Ms. Reed was like denying an avalanche. “OK,” I said, trying to hide my despair. I play the tenor sax, or as my mom says when bragging to her book club, the “jazz saxophone.” I’m the best player in the sax section of my middle school band; I even do concerts with the senior high band. But I’m good because…

WINNERS JANUARY 2024 STORY CONTEST Competition First prize 10 and under Ryan Coppa, age 10 Shaker Heights, OH The Battle of the Block James had always disliked Tony Hicks ever since he moved into James’s neighborhood. From the start, James sensed a strong rivalry forming between the two. Whenever James was selling lemonade on a hot day, Tony soon followed, selling lemonade and a sweet treat to complement it. When James sold popcorn for the school fundraiser, Tony was always a house ahead making gainful profit. It was only after the enormous snowstorm, however, when the true battle began. James woke up on a January morning as a white blanket of snow covered the whole town. When he looked out the window, he bolted downstairs and threw on his snow…

Hi, Everybuggy!I’ve been getting Cricket for two years now and I love it. I’m a major bookworm, and some of my favorite books are The School for Good and Evil, The Hunger Games, and all the books by Judy Blume and Raina Telgemeier. Does anyone else like those books or have book recommendations like them? What’s your favorite song? Mine changes daily, but right now it’s “Getaway Car” by Taylor Swift. To Lexy F. (November/December 2023), my house is Ravenclaw, and some of my favorite sports are volleyball and soccer. A few of my hobbies are running, reading, writing, and drawing. Like some other readers, I’m also writing a book. It’s kind of like a diary. Marigold, age 11 Galway, Ireland Dear Everybuggy, What was the dumbest argument that George…

A DROP OF sweat trickled into the corner of Dimitry’s right eye. He blinked, but that only made it sting more. He wiped his eye against his shoulder, and the rough marble block he was carrying with Castor slipped sideways. The boys clutched it. “Careful,” Castor whispered fiercely. “If we’re caught with this, we’ll be beaten as thieves.” “Don’t worry,” Dimitry whispered back. “Everyone’s eating lunch or resting under the trees. Besides,” Dimitry grunted as the boys gently laid the marble slab outside a temple, “I found it on the heap with the other trash. Nobody wants it.” “You think no one wants it,” Castor said. “I don’t want to find out for sure.” He stretched his long arms over his head and gave a huge yawn. Squinting in the…

“A GARDEN IS a lovesome thing,” wrote the poet Thomas Edward Brown. King Nebuchadnezzar II surely felt the same way when he built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon nearly 2,000 years ago. Trees and flowers bloomed in a terrace 400 square feet, 75 feet above ground level. Water had to be pumped up from the Euphrates River. The gardens were famed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Our gardens may be a little more modest, but we love them just as much. Millions of passionate gardeners raise flowers and vegetables in backyards, window boxes, apartment balconies, and city rooftops—practically anywhere. There are some unusual gardens, too: Zen gardens of beautifully arranged stones and gravel, as well as topiary gardens, where hedges are trimmed into the shapes of…

“MEATLOAF AGAIN?”I stare at the grayish glob my mom has plopped next to my broccoli and corn. “What do you mean? It’s been a whole week,” says my mom, continuing to serve the twins and herself. Right. A whole week. Here’s the thing—my mom knows how to make seven meals. That’s it. That’s all. She keeps all seven recipes in a pink binder, each one labelled with a day of the week. Today is Meatloaf Monday. Again. “I’m not really hungry,” I say, pushing my food back and forth on my plate. “Me neither,” says Jeanie, pushing her plate away. “Meatloaf’s gross,” says Georgie, not wanting to be left out. My mom sighs. “Malia,” she says, “you’re eleven. You should be setting an example for your brother and sister. Now…

PART 4 Kadlin and her brother, Bjorn, are excited when their father’s longship appears on the horizon. He and his men have spent the winter a-viking, and now they are returning with much plunder. Kadlin can’t wait to share her secret with Father. In his absence, Grandmother Thora has been teaching her to read and write runes. But the best part is that Kadlin is learning to see into the Other World. She hopes to become a wise and respected seeress, just like her grandmother. But Father has news of his own. He has brought home Freyfaxi, a horse fit for the gods. As goði, or chieftain, he dedicates the horse to the god Frey and announces that Kadlin will be the one to watch over the creature. There will…