Contests

New Story Contest: PEARLS OF WISDOM

Ladybug is always telling everybuggy what to do, even when they don’t ask for her opinion. Old Cricket has so much knowledge that it fills a whole page. Ah yes, how we all long to share our insight! For this month’s contest, everybuggy would love to read your best story about pearls of wisdom.

What sage advice will your characters give? How will they come up with it? Will your wise words spring from real-life experience, like Henry David Thoreau’s guide to catching a runaway pig or Lucy Larcom’s warning about life’s greatest mistake? Or will you find inspiration in traditions that are far from factual, like the theater superstitions in “Break a Leg, Macbeth (Shh!)”? Will hearing the truth help kids get along, like when Lissity tells Nariel that mean words hurt in “A Pterodragon of a Different Color”? Or will a long-held belief turn out to be totally wrong, like how Ashley in “Finding the Perfect Sandy” thinks that imperfections don’t belong onstage?

Maybe you’ll write an advice column for the school newspaper or craft a story about a bossy older sibling. Perhaps you’ll write about a child taking a grownup’s recommendation, with disastrous results. You could even weave a tale of friends sharing heartfelt tips to overcome a challenge.

Whether your characters give good advice or bad, and whether others follow or ignore it, every opinionated bug in Cricket Country agrees that they can’t wait to read your best story—of 350 words or fewer, please—overflowing with pearls of wisdom.

  • (Show Rules)
    Here are the only rules: (Hide Rules)

    1. Your contest entry must be your very own original work. Ideas and words should not be copied.

    2. Your entry must be signed by your parent or guardian, stating that it is your own work, that no help was given, and that Cricket has permission to publish it in the magazine and on our website. 

    3. Be sure to include your name, age, and full address on your entry.

    4. Only one entry per person, please.

    5. Your entry must be received by September 25, 2024.

    6. Email entries to cricket@cricketmedia.com.

    7. We will publish winning entries in the November/Deecember 2024 issue and on the Cricket website.