Home//Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens/October 2016/In This Issue
Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016COVER AND BORDER“Monster Jam” digital JooHee Yoon is an illustrator and printmaker who has been drawing and making things as far back as she can remember. Her artwork has appeared in newspapers, picture books, posters, and on clothing. October is her favorite month since it includes pumpkins, Halloween, autumn leaves, and chilly weather. She enjoys drawing animals, especially cats and other feline creatures. Is it time to renew? shop.cricketmedia.com 1-800-821-0115…1 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016SCARECROWSSIMON LAY IN the wheat field, hidden from the eyes of anyone who might happen to pass by. He was plucking stalks of wheat and linking the straws together to make a circular network of spokes and struts, trying to distract himself from worrying about the war. If this stem were attached here, and then he wrapped this long stem around one of the stones from his bag and knotted it. . . . He held the framework in one hand and released the stone, smiling as the falling weight made the straw pinwheel spin. The sound of hoofbeats made his eyes widen. He scrambled to his feet in time to see a figure on horseback galloping down the road toward his family’s farmhouse. The rider sagged to one side,…8 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016The Man In The Monster SuitSOME CHILDREN DREAM of becoming a hero when they grow up: conquering dragons, villains, and beasts. But not Alan Maxson. He didn’t want to vanquish monsters. He wanted to become one.“I’ve always loved monsters and nonhuman creatures,” Alan told me in a recent interview. “It was difficult to have a favorite monster growing up, because I loved so many.”As an adult, Alan has turned his love of monsters into a career as a Hollywood actor. He’s played about forty monsters—everything from an orc, to a creepy elf, to a Godzilla-sized gorilla. He follows in the large (and hairy) footsteps of some of Hollywood’s most legendary actors.How to Play a MonsterPlaying a monster is different from playing a regular role. Sure, you have to study a script, memorize lines, and create…7 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016WHICH MONSTER ARE YOU?HAVE YOU EVER wondered what life would be like as a monster? Well, you may be more monstrous than you know! Take the quiz below and see what you may have in common with four legendary beasts.What is your favorite workout?A. A quick swimB. A fast game of catch-me-if-you-canC. A long, slow walk through the city at nightD. Skydiving in a thunderstormWhat is your favorite movie?A. JawsB. The Twilight Saga: New MoonC. Bride of FrankensteinD. The BirdsWhat’s your favorite color?A. Pond scum greenB. Blood redC. Clay grayD. White lightningYour two best friends begin arguing. How would you stop them?A. Drown and eat themB. Dismember and eat themC. Stomp them with your giant bootsD. Singe them with bolts of lightningThat last question made you hungry! Where will you look for a…5 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016Hope on HighAbram and Sela Hayes have come to America, looking for hope in a new world. They settle on the western prairie and, after years of yearning, are looking forward to the birth of their first child. Sela develops a craving for tomatoes, and right before the baby is born, she steals three ripe, juicy tomatoes from the witch woman Agatha Pride’s garden. Seeking revenge, Agatha makes herself invisible and kidnaps the newborn Hope from her cradle, bearing the child out through the window into the summer night. The wicked old woman plans to hide Hope away in a stone silo that stands straight and tall on an abandoned Swedish homestead behind her farm. THE HAYESES WOKE to the empty cradle, and the loss and ache for a little one who…9 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016VANISHERSTHEY WERE TWO boys named Jacob and Jakob, and they lived next door to each other. They’d built snow forts together and leapt off backyard sheds together, and one summer they’d even broken their left wrists together in a freak trampoline accident. At the end of fifth grade they’d also developed crushes on the same girl together—Bethany Miller, who could pitch a baseball so fast that not even the eighth-grade boys could hit it. Neither of the boys did anything about his crush, though, because neither wanted to risk ending their friendship. Jacob with a C. Jakob with a K. That’s what people called them. Since they even looked alike—each had the same shaggy haircut, the same lanky walk, the same light freckles—if you wanted one of them, you just…6 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016ALL FOR A LIZARD PART 2It’s annoying, Statius thinks, how people always have to mention that he and his brother, Caeso, are twins—as if the boys hadn’t noticed. It’s a sweltering school day, and their teacher has just given them a passage to memorize about a pair of famous twins in Roman history. At least it’s in Latin and not Greek, Statius thinks. He and Caeso are sitting on the hard bench, struggling to memorize the passage when, suddenly, wailing breaks out in the street.School breaks up in disarray, and Statius and his twin learn that Augustus, the emperor of Rome, has died while visiting the town of Nola. The new emperor, Tiberius Claudius Nero, is even now praying in Rome’s temple of Jupiter.Statius and Caeso race home to tell their mother what is happening.…10 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016NEW POETRY CONTESTHungry ghosts? Zombies? Vanishers? Kappa? The frightening things in this monstrous Cricket sent shivers down George’s spine (or would have, if he had one). Still, most of us enjoy a good scare, especially as Halloween grows near. For this month’s contest, every-buggy—even George—would like to read your best poem about something frightful. Will your poem be filled with Halloween ghosts and witches, or visiting a haunted house? Maybe your scary verse will be inspired by a monster from folk lore, like the Gévaudan or the Golem. Perhaps you will imagine what it would be like to play your favorite scary creature in a movie or play, like the monster actor Alan Maxson. Or maybe what gives you goosebumps and makes your hair stand on end isn’t a monster at all,…1 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016Old Cricket SaysROBERT GIBBON JOHNSON, leading citizen of Salem, New Jersey, stood ready to perform his death-defying act. On the courthouse steps, under the anxious eyes of two thousand onlookers, Johnson reached into the basket at his feet. Cool as a cucumber (he was, after all, an expert gardener), he drew out a shiny red globe. Closer and closer he brought it to his lips until—awful moment!—he bit into it. Chewed it! Swallowed it! The crowd gasped in terror. Some turned away from the sight. Others screamed and fainted. Johnson’s doctor had warned him: This foolhardy venture would cause instant brain fever, convulsions—at the very least, galloping appendicitis. The bold gardener was undismayed. With a steady hand, he picked out another crimson sphere and ate it. Then another. Until the basket was…1 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016Old Cricket SaysROBERT GIBBON JOHNSON, leading citizen of Salem, New Jersey, stood ready to perform his death-defying act. On the courthouse steps, under the anxious eyes of two thousand onlookers, Johnson reached into the basket at his feet. Cool as a cucumber (he was, after all, an expert gardener), he drew out a shiny red globe. Closer and closer he brought it to his lips until—awful moment!—he bit into it. Chewed it! Swallowed it! The crowd gasped in terror. Some turned away from the sight. Others screamed and fainted.Johnson’s doctor had warned him: This foolhardy venture would cause instant brain fever, convulsions—at the very least, galloping appendicitis. The bold gardener was undismayed. With a steady hand, he picked out another crimson sphere and ate it. Then another. Until the basket was empty.…1 min
Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016the letterboxDear Everybuggy, Is every buggy around the mailbox? OK, I know you get this a million bajillion times, but . . . I. Love. This. Magazine! When we were looking at magazine options, I was really only into poems. But your magazine inspired me to create a whole story! I love looking at all of the stories, poems, letters, pictures, everything! Ladybug, I love you. You’re hilarious! You could be a little bit less bossy, though. Ugly Bird, you kinda need to calm down. Could the buggies find out if Little Crow has any relation to him? Zoot, I play the violin and have for almost six years! Muffin, you are soooooo cute! Pussy, you’re adorable! Cricket, you pull the whole package together. Thank you, everybuggy. Trill Woodhena, age 12…8 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016SCARECROWSSIMON LAY IN the wheat field, hidden from the eyes of anyone who might happen to pass by. He was plucking stalks of wheat and linking the straws together to make a circular network of spokes and struts, trying to distract himself from worrying about the war. If this stem were attached here, and then he wrapped this long stem around one of the stones from his bag and knotted it. . . . He held the framework in one hand and released the stone, smiling as the falling weight made the straw pinwheel spin.The sound of hoofbeats made his eyes widen. He scrambled to his feet in time to see a figure on horseback galloping down the road toward his family’s farmhouse. The rider sagged to one side, barely…8 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016WHICH MONSTER ARE YOU?HAVE YOU EVER wondered what life would be like as a monster? Well, you may be more monstrous than you know! Take the quiz below and see what you may have in common with four legendary beasts. What is your favorite workout? A. A quick swim B. A fast game of catch-me-if-you-can C. A long, slow walk through the city at night D. Skydiving in a thunderstorm What is your favorite movie? A. Jaws B. The Twilight Saga: New Moon C. Bride of Frankenstein D. The Birds What’s your favorite color? A. Pond scum green B. Blood red C. Clay gray D. White lightning Your two best friends begin arguing. How would you stop them? A. Drown and eat them B. Dismember and eat them C.…5 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016VANQUISHING THE HUNGRY CHINESE ZOMBIEWE STOOD OUTSIDE my family’s shop, Crackling Candles, under a clear, starry sky. It was the last day of the seventh lunar month, and in Singapore the Hungry Ghost Festival was winding down at last. Danger, unfortunately, was not yet over for me.During the seventh month of our lunar calendar, hungry spirits are released from the netherworld to roam and feast every night. Buddhists and Taoists set out food offerings for the spirits and pray for protection. Tonight, we would pray again; this time, to beseech the spirits to return before the gates of Hell closed. But sometimes, not all spirits or monsters left.According to Tong, the neighborhood hooligan, there was one in our shop that was reluctant to leave. Tong said it was a Chinese zombie, a jiang shi.…9 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016Join the Story! KYNGDOM™Go to cricketmagkids.com/kyngdomto join other Chatterboxers creating the Kyngdom adventure!The mourning, angry boy went too far in his thirst for revenge. He started an army and quested for the end of the Powers. His heart turned black, and his mind turned evil. All out of grief for his deceased mother. He also may have started the Brazen Inquiry Guild.—Lucy/XiaolóngGryphons don’t cry.—motto of Redwing, Avenger of the GryphonsRevenge is an evil that lurks after every death and mishap. It plants itself into our innermost souls, gripping our life and enslaving it. It turns our words bitter—and directs our claws to the knife. It has no feelings but its unending thirst for vengeance. And it won’t stop.—WindswiftIf you can’t reach it, climb for it.—motto of Bitty “Bit” Quire, Squirrl (Sciuridae), independent spyIf…4 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016VANISHERSTHEY WERE TWO boys named Jacob and Jakob, and they lived next door to each other. They’d built snow forts together and leapt off backyard sheds together, and one summer they’d even broken their left wrists together in a freak trampoline accident.At the end of fifth grade they’d also developed crushes on the same girl together—Bethany Miller, who could pitch a baseball so fast that not even the eighth-grade boys could hit it. Neither of the boys did anything about his crush, though, because neither wanted to risk ending their friendship.Jacob with a C. Jakob with a K. That’s what people called them. Since they even looked alike—each had the same shaggy haircut, the same lanky walk, the same light freckles—if you wanted one of them, you just called out,…6 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016Cricket LeagueFirst prize 10 and under Holly Simon, age 9 Port Washington, NY An Exaggeration of Actual Events “Okay, class,” says Miss B. “Let’s go.” And so begins the dreadful row. Emily lost her rosin last week. Johnny’s off key and only can squeak. Caroline can’t get the fingerings right, And her twin Bob seems to be having a fight With his alto sax. That thing’s way too loud. Andi’s cello seems to have meowed. Tim, our best player, is at the beach. Hannah’s trombone is heard to screech. Peter is missing all of his notes; Meg’s telling Joe about the book she just wrote. Lena, our singer, just dropped her mic. Teddy, her partner, is awful—YIKES. Kathleen’s dropping her flute. Lance’s A string is mute. I don’t think Anne’s drum…4 min
Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016the letterboxDear Everybuggy,Is every buggy around the mailbox? OK, I know you get this a million bajillion times, but . . . I. Love. This. Magazine! When we were looking at magazine options, I was really only into poems. But your magazine inspired me to create a whole story!I love looking at all of the stories, poems, letters, pictures, everything! Ladybug, I love you. You’re hilarious! You could be a little bit less bossy, though. Ugly Bird, you kinda need to calm down. Could the buggies find out if Little Crow has any relation to him? Zoot, I play the violin and have for almost six years! Muffin, you are soooooo cute! Pussy, you’re adorable! Cricket, you pull the whole package together. Thank you, everybuggy.Trill Woodhena, age 12B.I.G. Dorms, This MonthDear…8 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016The Man In The Monster SuitSOME CHILDREN DREAM of becoming a hero when they grow up: conquering dragons, villains, and beasts. But not Alan Maxson. He didn’t want to vanquish monsters. He wanted to become one. “I’ve always loved monsters and nonhuman creatures,” Alan told me in a recent interview. “It was difficult to have a favorite monster growing up, because I loved so many.” As an adult, Alan has turned his love of monsters into a career as a Hollywood actor. He’s played about forty monsters—everything from an orc, to a creepy elf, to a Godzilla-sized gorilla. He follows in the large (and hairy) footsteps of some of Hollywood’s most legendary actors. How to Play a Monster Playing a monster is different from playing a regular role. Sure, you have to study a script,…7 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016VANQUISHING THE HUNGRY CHINESE ZOMBIEWE STOOD OUTSIDE my family’s shop, Crackling Candles, under a clear, starry sky. It was the last day of the seventh lunar month, and in Singapore the Hungry Ghost Festival was winding down at last. Danger, unfortunately, was not yet over for me. During the seventh month of our lunar calendar, hungry spirits are released from the netherworld to roam and feast every night. Buddhists and Taoists set out food offerings for the spirits and pray for protection. Tonight, we would pray again; this time, to beseech the spirits to return before the gates of Hell closed. But sometimes, not all spirits or monsters left. According to Tong, the neighborhood hooligan, there was one in our shop that was reluctant to leave. Tong said it was a Chinese zombie, a…9 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016Join the Story! KYNGDOM™Go to cricketmagkids.com/kyngdom to join other Chatterboxers creating the Kyngdom adventure! The mourning, angry boy went too far in his thirst for revenge. He started an army and quested for the end of the Powers. His heart turned black, and his mind turned evil. All out of grief for his deceased mother. He also may have started the Brazen Inquiry Guild. — Lucy/Xiaolóng Gryphons don’t cry. —motto of Redwing, Avenger of the Gryphons Revenge is an evil that lurks after every death and mishap. It plants itself into our innermost souls, gripping our life and enslaving it. It turns our words bitter—and directs our claws to the knife. It has no feelings but its unending thirst for vengeance. And it won’t stop. —Windswift If you can’t reach it,…4 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016Hope on HighAbram and Sela Hayes have come to America, looking for hope in a new world. They settle on the western prairie and, after years of yearning, are looking forward to the birth of their first child. Sela develops a craving for tomatoes, and right before the baby is born, she steals three ripe, juicy tomatoes from the witch woman Agatha Pride’s garden.Seeking revenge, Agatha makes herself invisible and kidnaps the newborn Hope from her cradle, bearing the child out through the window into the summer night. The wicked old woman plans to hide Hope away in a stone silo that stands straight and tall on an abandoned Swedish homestead behind her farm.THE HAYESES WOKE to the empty cradle, and the loss and ache for a little one who had come…9 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016ALL FOR A LIZARD PART 2It’s annoying, Statius thinks, how people always have to mention that he and his brother, Caeso, are twins—as if the boys hadn’t noticed. It’s a sweltering school day, and their teacher has just given them a passage to memorize about a pair of famous twins in Roman history. At least it’s in Latin and not Greek, Statius thinks. He and Caeso are sitting on the hard bench, struggling to memorize the passage when, suddenly, wailing breaks out in the street. School breaks up in disarray, and Statius and his twin learn that Augustus, the emperor of Rome, has died while visiting the town of Nola. The new emperor, Tiberius Claudius Nero, is even now praying in Rome’s temple of Jupiter. Statius and Caeso race home to tell their mother what…10 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016Cricket LeagueFirst prize 10 and underHolly Simon, age 9 Port Washington, NYAn Exaggeration of Actual Events“Okay, class,” says Miss B. “Let’s go.” And so begins the dreadful row. Emily lost her rosin last week. Johnny’s off key and only can squeak. Caroline can’t get the fingerings right, And her twin Bob seems to be having a fight With his alto sax. That thing’s way too loud. Andi’s cello seems to have meowed. Tim, our best player, is at the beach. Hannah’s trombone is heard to screech. Peter is missing all of his notes; Meg’s telling Joe about the book she just wrote. Lena, our singer, just dropped her mic. Teddy, her partner, is awful—YIKES. Kathleen’s dropping her flute. Lance’s A string is mute. I don’t think Anne’s drum is supposed to…4 minCricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens|October 2016NEW POETRY CONTESTHungry ghosts? Zombies? Vanishers? Kappa? The frightening things in this monstrous Cricket sent shivers down George’s spine (or would have, if he had one). Still, most of us enjoy a good scare, especially as Halloween grows near. For this month’s contest, every-buggy—even George—would like to read your best poem about something frightful.Will your poem be filled with Halloween ghosts and witches, or visiting a haunted house? Maybe your scary verse will be inspired by a monster from folk lore, like the Gévaudan or the Golem. Perhaps you will imagine what it would be like to play your favorite scary creature in a movie or play, like the monster actor Alan Maxson. Or maybe what gives you goosebumps and makes your hair stand on end isn’t a monster at all, it’s…2 min
