In Cricket, there be dragons!

In the Chinese legend “The Tiger Fortune Princess,” Wen-Xiu must ride the tail of the dragon to avoid a soothsayer’s angry curse. And in the fantasy story “On Uppermost Winds,” young Asyra tries to bring dragons back into the world by building a mechanical creature with her clockmaker father. But first she needs to visit Vaori’s Emporium to procure a dragon soul.

Do you recycle? Then you’ll be inspired by the true story of “Crazy Maisie,” who over 30 years recycled $73,000 worth of aluminum cans so that her small town in Kansas could build a swimming pool. In Cricket Country, the bugs enter the World Recycling Challenge, only to be beaten by the biggest junk collector of them all!

If you love soccer, the poem “Beach Football” will delight you with its fancy footwork on the beaches of Rio, just in time for the World Cup.

There are more stories, humor, and activities, including a dragon story contest.  And this month we announce Crowd Sorcery, a special feature where Cricket readers will collaborate on the Chatterbox to help create a fantasy story for the November/December issue. Roar!