Cricket Magazine Fiction and Non-Fiction Stories for Children and Young Teens

“SO . . . YOU gonna eat me or what?” I look down at my lunch. I know my mom would be mad if she knew I only bought a donut. She’s always on me about how a growing girl needs good nutrition, how you can’t learn with just sugar to fuel you. She never m

A question I have to ask . . .Can I live within your smile?Or maybe just vacation in it for a little while?It looks so welcoming, so hospitableThe weather here has been so miserableHow’s the weather in your smile? Can I stay within your voice?If not,

COOPER FELT GOOSEBUMPS break out all over his arms. He looked at his mom in disbelief. She was wearing his video game headset and staring at the TV screen. There was a vein in the side of her neck that he had never noticed before. It was pulsing. But

THE LARGE, SNOWY goose was, as usual, not paying attention. There were many birds at the lake, with more gathering each day. He hardly noticed the arrivals anymore, instead preferring to feed hungrily on the lush grass that rimmed the water’s edge. S

One puzzle-pieceOf curtained sky,A flock of wild geeseFlying by,A wedge of moon,Stars, small and bright— All the dark, deep mysteryOf the night. ■

Fifteen-year-old runaway Hank Cobb joins up with Chief Sunrise, a Seminole Indian determined to try out as pitcher for the New York Giants’ 1919 season. Before heading north, Hank and Chief stop off in Gainesville, Florida, where Hank is recruited to

ARCELA SAT BESIDE her father, Gaius, as their carrying chair jolted up the hill to the temple of Mercury. She had tried to convince him to take the ox cart, but Gaius explained that you couldn’t collect a new wife in an ox cart; it would be rude. The

Cora Barclay, age 10 Seattle, WA The morning was dark and cold. Stars winked down from the sky and a half moon shone down. “Varrow, wake up,” Gramps whispered, shaking me awake. “It’s sea turtle time.” I rubbed my eyes and took in the shadows that su