It’s Ladybugs and Pussywillows first, in this watery Cricket.

Everyone knows the story of Noah’s Ark, but have you heard about the Arkansas farmer who built a raft to save his family from a Mississippi flood? Enjoy the humorous “Noah Count and the Arkansas Ark”—an adventure based on a true story. 

In the age of steamboats, female captains were unheard of until Mary Greene came along. Discover her story of life on the river in the “The Petticoat Skipper.”

Have you ever wondered where the phrase “Women and children first” originated? It commemorates a nineteenth-century disaster off the coast of Cape Town, when the remarkable sense of discipline and duty of new recruits set the world standard for sacrifice at sea. Read the true story of maritime perils and heroism in “The Birkenhead Drill.” 

It’s important to stay afloat, whether on an ark, a Mississippi steamboat, or weathering one of life’s storms. In the endearing story “The Secret,” a young girl has to make the best of things when her family suddenly finds themselves homeless.

In this Cricket you’ll enjoy the next episodes of “Ghost Train” and “The Forty Thieves,” a new art contest about rivers, and a recipe for the steamboat favorite Wheelhouse Puddin’. And when the bugs build a raft, for once Ladybug doesn’t want to be captain—lest she be obligated to go down with the ship. Ahoy!