Iwas introduced to Cricket magazine through one of my teachers inearly elementary school, and soon afterward my parents began asubscription for me. From then all the way up through middle school Idevoured each issue cover-to-cover the moment it arrived. At first Ifound it a welcome challenge compared to the overly simple andmundane classroom books of the "Mac the cat sat on a mat"variety. Even after I had surpassed the magazine in my readingability, I continued to enjoy it for the content of the stories. Evenmy mother loved to read it.

Themagazine provides a great collection of well-selected stories thatopen up an entire world for young readers, and each issue usually hasa particular theme (i.e. the Middle Ages, horses, Chinese culture,food, etc.). Some of the stories are excerpted from longer pieces andsome are short works in their own right. The magazine

spansall genres of literature, including fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.It addresses such important themes as culture, history, family andfriends, growing up, and much more. Some pieces have serious andvaluable morals, while others are just plain fun.

Themagazine also offers book recommendations, a comic strip, a crosswordpuzzle, jokes, and contests for art, photography, fiction, andpoetry. Moreover, each issue is beautifully illustrated. I believethe artwork in this magazine did much to inspire my own earlyartistic endeavors. I would highly recommend this magazine to parentsand teachers alike. The stories are excellent material for youngreaders, and would also be great to read aloud to children. On thewhole, this is a terrific blend of recreation and education! Themakers of Cricket also offer other magazines for different age levels- Spider, Ladybug, and Babybug for the younger ones, and Cicada foradolescents.--Monika, Davis, CA