January 2012

Brrrr. It’s survival of the fittest (and funniest) in this month’s wonderfully wintry Cricket.

Think it’s cold where you live? Imagine surviving in the frozen Arctic where Keelut, an Inuit boy, goes on his first seal hunt to save his starving family in “The Longest Winter.” And where could the weather be more harsh and frigid than on top of Mount Everest? This issue begins a new two-part serial, "A Boy Called Everest," about a boy who secretly goes rock climbing even though his father died on Mount Everest and his worried mother has forbidden him to climb. And talk about survivors, in “A Man Cloth’d in Goat-Skins” you’ll read about how the real Robinson Crusoe, Alexander Selkirk, survived being marooned on an island for more than four years, with only cats and goats (and rats) to keep him company. In “Of Feathers, Fat, and Freezing,” you’ll learn about how the amazing black-capped chickadee, only about the size of a person’s thumb, survives temperatures of -40ºF during Alaska’s bitter winter. But the best winter survival tip might come from the bugs, who drive George nuts while holding a tropical pool party in the sophisticated worm’s underground mansion.

With a new art contest and a tale of love from the Middle East in this month’s Cricket, you’ll stay happy and warm on the coldest day.

Achoo!

Cricket League

  • Art Contest: Surviving in Nature

    For this month’s contest George would love to see your drawing of someone or something surviving in nature. (Entries due by January 25)