Go buggy, with this summery issue of Cricket!

How will you spend your summer? Perhaps babysitting a boa constrictor? No? It happens to Melanie when she becomes a junior docent at the zoo and has to deal with a somewhat constricting relationship with gentle Bo, in “I’ve Got to Hold a What?” And if boas don’t bite humans (thank goodness), horse flies do. Catch all the buzz in “I Know What Bit You Last Summer.” 

If you prefer animals that don’t (usually) bite, there’s a mischievous monkey in “A New Twist on Things” and the inspiring true story of a heroic horse in “Sergeant Reckless of the Recoilless Rifles.” 

And fans of computers (and wackiness) will enjoy the true cartoon history of the first computer geniuses in “The Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage.” 

In “Crowd Sorcery: Heroes and Heroines,” fantasy fans will love to see the characters Cricket readers have created for our original fantasy story coming in November. There’s still time to contribute your own ideas for villains and sidekicks. Maybe you’ll be featured in the magazine! 

There’s also the final episode of the dragon fantasy “On Uppermost Winds,” and the next installment of our baseball story set in Japan, “The Returnee.”

All this, plus a new adventure of the bugs and a summer photography contest, is in this month’s buggy issue. Bzzz and slap!