Contests

New Poetry Contest: At the Library

Muffin loves going to the library. (She almost never encounters a ghost there, like in “The New Arrival.”) The seemingly endless shelves of books fill her with awe and wonder. Who wrote all those books? What mysteries and adventures do they contain? And where is the new issue of Cricket? Her dream is to read through the whole library. Then she would know everything! For this month’s contest, Muffin would love to add your best poem about a library to the Cricket Country Library for everybuggy to read and enjoy.

Will your poem be inspired by a large public library with great columns, busts of famous authors, and a motto chiseled in stone? Or by your own personal library at home, filled with your favorite books? Maybe you will write about a library in ancient Rome or Egypt, or a time when librarians delivered books on horseback to children in remote areas, or a library of music or art or scientific specimens. Perhaps you will imagine working in a library of the future, or shelving books in a library where magical things happen, like a wizard’s library of spells. You might even wonder who is checking out the same books as you at your library!

Whether you write about curling up all day in your favorite reading nook, frantically looking up information for a school report, or returning a long overdue book, everybuggy in Cricket Country will be renewing their library cards to check out your best poem—of 24 lines or less, please—about a library. Shhh!

  • (Show Rules)
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    1. Your contest entry must be your very own original work. Ideas and words should not be copied.

    2. Your entry must be signed by your parent or guardian, stating that it is your own work, that no help was given, and that Cricket has permission to publish it in the magazine and on our website. 

    3. Be sure to include your name, age, and full address on your entry.

    4. Only one entry per person, please.

    5. If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope for each entry.

    6. Your entry must be received by October 25, 2020.

    7. Send entries to Cricket League, P.O. Box 300, Peru, IL 61354. (No faxes or email submissions, please!)

    8. We will publish winning entries in the February 2021 issue and on the Cricket website.