Contests

New Poetry Contest: Mystery

There are some mysterious goings-on in this month’s Cricket. A young Dwarf confronts an ancient mystery when he discovers glowing handprints on a cave wall. After moving to a new town, Gretal ponders the mysterious animal-like eyes of the first boy she meets. Tamitha answers her front door and confronts a loopy vampire in various disguises. Chris’s best friend in the neighborhood mysteriously goes home—wherever that is. Even the bugs run into a hidden mystery in their Halloween haunted house. (Shiver!)

So for this month’s contest, everybuggy wanted to read your best poem about a mystery or something mysterious. Maybe you will write about a scary or creepy mystery, like hearing footsteps in the dark or visiting a haunted house. Perhaps you will discover that your new friend is not really—human. Your mystery might involve an ancient legend that comes true, or a sign left by the Old Ones, or a secret message. Or your mystery might be more realistic—such as finding in your attic a memento that belonged to your grandparents and wondering what it meant to them. You might even write about something mysterious or uncanny in nature, such as how birds and sea turtles find their way after migrating long distances.

Whether you write about an unusual substitute teacher or why you can never find a matching pair of socks in your drawer, everybuggy will be stalking the Cricket Country mailbox with their magnifying glasses, waiting to inspect you best poem—of 24 lines of less—about a mystery.

  • (Show Rules)
    Here are the only rules: (Hide Rules)

    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, 2018.

    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 2019 issue and on the Cricket website.