Warm up a snowy day with the winter magic of Cricket!

In “Stray Magic” a young girl ventures into the mazelike Pathways, confronting ogres and nixkeeps, in an attempt to discover why magic is disappearing from her island.

Scientific genius Ernest Rutherford discovers the structure of the atom and invents nuclear physics in “Much Ado about (Mostly) Nothing.” Twins F.O. and F.E. (or is it F.E. and F.O.?) Stanley invent the steam car, in a humorous tale of a race between horse and machine.  And Elinor Smith, who fell in love with flying at the age ten, becomes the youngest pilot in America in “Elinor, Born to Soar!”

A futuristic society has a curious way of choosing who will become a Decider in “Rule of Rock.” And in part 2 of the Crowd-Sorcery story “The Girl Who Writes the Future,” Fable Thatcher travels to the library of the Silent Sisters, where she is almost devoured by a shape-shifting homunculus until rescued by the mysterious girl in the raven feather cloak, Araceli Luminé.

There’s a beautiful snowy poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, a story about a piano lesson with a cat that hits some sour notes, and a new poetry contest.

And you won’t want to miss the ultimate adventure of the bugs, as they bravely travel into the very belly of the beast. Yuk!

All in this month’s Cricket.