“CUT THE ROWDY stuff and get moving, you miserable little sea slugs!” Mrs. Noodleknocker shouted. “Next stop Octopus Gardens. Come on, Pinkley. Step it up!” Doodlebug Pinkley cringed. He and the other members of the Science Explorers after-school clu

Salads are delicious, but this one certainly has some strange ingredients! Answers on page 35 April 2024 Volume 31 Number 4 cricketmedia.com $6.95 ■

POTATO STUFFING IS a favorite side dish throughout the Caribbean islands. Treat your family to a taste of St. Croix, part of the U.S. Virgin Islands. 1½ pounds white potatoes1 medium-sized onion (minced)1½ bell peppers (minced)3 tablespoons cooking o

WHEN SUE WAS two days old, her parents found out that she wasn’t an ordinary baby. Their flatboat was moving a bit too slow, so Sue jumped out of her cradle, grabbed a rope, and tugged that boat down the Ohio River with lightning speed. “Whoa!” calle

Rays have slipped into this list of whales. Cross off the four rays. Then write the remaining blue letters in order (top to bottom for each column) in the blank spaces to reveal the wild whale fact. mantarightbowheadspotted eaglenarwhal electricgrayh

I LIKE THINGS to balance, partly because of my name, “Ava.” It’s the same backwards and forwards, balanced on a V in the middle. When something bothers me, I try to balance the bad with the good. That’s why I don’t mind being the tallest kid in third

I run all day but never walk.I often murmur but never talk.I have a bed but never sleep.I have a mouth but never eat. Answer on page 35 ■

You asked if I have learned to swim.And I replied, “Not yet.But I’ve had water to my chin and don’t mind getting wet.”I’ve watched my mom as she swims laps.I know her strokes by heart.I’ve studied water current maps and made a detailed chart.I’ve lea

SHE GLIDES LIKE a bird in the sky, but her ride is on a warm ocean current. Her fins are her wings. The water is her air. Nari, a spotted eagle ray, has spent the summer swimming in the blue-green waters off the Gulf Coast of Florida. A lingering chi

The sail was tall above our heads. It billowed in the breeze.It launched us out beyond the pier to sail the seven seas. The breeze itself could not be seen, a phantom made of air.And yet it moved our boat so fast we knew that it was there. It ferried

LONG AGO IN the south of Argentina, the sea was full of many creatures such as dolphins, walruses, seals, stingrays, sharks, and even mermaids. But the whale did not live in the sea. The whale lived on the land with the llamas and the hares and the p

SINK YOUR TEETH into this mouth-watering snack. red apple slices peanut or soy butter mini marshmallows plate spatula 1. Spread peanut or soy butter on two apple slices. 2. Stick marshmallows in a line along the curve of one apple slice. 3. Set the o

1. Take a piece of string and wrap it around the outside of any pie (pizza, pumpkin, or really any circle). 2. Take that string and see how many times you can stretch it across the widest part. It should be just a little more than 3 times (or 3.14 .

Starla has lost a lot more than her tooth! Help the tired tooth fairy find 8 hidden kittens and 1 baby tooth. March 2024 Volume 31 Number 3 cricketmedia.com$6.95 ■

I taught baboons to brush my teeth.Opossums learned to floss em.My boa knows how to squeeze out paste,Crush up the tubes, and toss em.But when my pets see cavities,They growl, they howl, they shriek,And take away my lollipopsAnd candies for a week! ■

I’m practically a grownup now and that’s the honest truth because today’s the day I lost my one last baby tooth.

1. Cut a row of teeth in one side of the box. Make sure there is enough space between each tooth for a marble to fit through. 2. Cover the table with newspaper. Place the box—teeth down—on the newspaper. Decorate the box to look like a big-toothed cr

WHEN A THEATER puts on a show, someone has to make the bare stage look like a castle, or a forest, or a school. That person is the set designer. But before she gets out her hammer, she makes a miniature model called a maquette. Lizzie Bracken designe

Meet my new neighbors,Four handsome young mice,Always well dressed,Very neat and precise. They dine every nightOn curried white riceFlavored with peppers,Raw onions, and spice. They love playing cardsAnd board games with dice.They follow the rulesAnd

One day when Fred was eating lunch,He felt his tooth get loose.He didn’t eat his apple,But he drank the apple juice. At dinner Fred was carefulWhen he chose what he would eat.He ate his mashed potatoes,But he left his piece of meat. At breakfast he h

“OK, COME IN,” Doodlebug Pinkley said begrudgingly. Doodlebug’s best friend, Bog, stood beside him looking as glum as Doodlebug did. “¡Gracias!” said Hazel, Bog’s little cousin, proudly using the Spanish word for thank you. She tromped into the Lodge

DO YOU WISH that fairies would pay you a visit? Entice them with a tiny fairy home in a miniature enchanted garden. What You’ll Need: small milk cartonscissorsacrylic paint and paintbrushglue sticksdried mosswide, shallow flower potplate or plant sa