Cricket july 2021

The idea is: if you were designing the cover for the book, what would you make it look like?. “I’ll be taking you and watching you the first time or two until I think you’re OK on your

Is it time to renew?

shop.cricketmedia.com

1-800-821-0115

COV E R A N D B O R D E R

by Ruper t Van Wyk

“A Picnic with Bees”

India ink and watercolor

Born in the wonderful year of 1971,

Rupert has had lots of practice at

drawing, inking, and then splashing

down watercolors With the motto

“It’s the small details that bring a

picture to life,” he’s created images

which have been published all over

the world in many countries that he

has also explored!

CRICKET magazine (ISSN 0090-6034) is published 9 times a year, monthly except for combined May/June, July/August, and November/December issues, by Cricket Media, Inc., 1751 Pinnacle Drive, Suite 600, McLean, VA 22102 Periodicals postage paid at McLean, VA, and at additional mailing offices For address changes, back issues, sub- scriptions, customer service, or to renew, please visit shop.cricketmedia.com, email cricketmedia@cdsfulfillment.com, write to CRICKET, P.O Box 6395, Harlan, IA 51593-

1895, or call 1-800-821-0115 POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to CRICKET, P.O Box 6395, Harlan, IA 51593-1895.

CRICKET ADVISORY BOARD

Marianne Carus Founder

and Editor-in-Chief from 1972–2012

Kieran Egan Professor of Education,

Simon Fraser University, Vancouver

Betsy Hearne Professor, University of

Illinois, Champaign; Critic, Author

Sybille Jagusch Children’s Literature Specialist

Linda Sue Park Author Katherine Paterson Author Barbara Scharioth Former Director of the

International Youth Library in Munich, Germany

Anita Silvey Author, Critic Sandra Stotsky Professor of Education Reform,

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

Roger Sutton Editor-in-Chief of

The Horn Book Magazine, Critic

Ann Thwaite Author, Critic

Society of Midland Authors Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature

Educational Press Association of America Golden Lamp Award Distinguished Achievement Award

National Magazine Award finalist in the category of General Excellence

Parents’ Choice Gold Award

International Reading Association Paul A Witty Short Story Award 1988–1993, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2006,

2007, 2009, 2011–2015

Academics Choice Smart Media Award

5 I’ve Got to Hold a WHAT? by Katharine Weeks Folkes

10 Santa’s Summer Vacation by J Patrick Lewis

11 Bees, Please! by Stephanie Jackson

15 Heinz by Jeannie Meekins

16 The Expert by G G Russey

21 Nest by Charles Ghigna

22 Our Lady Josephine by Cicely van Straten

26 Patriot in Disguise by Judy Cummings

32 The Crow’s Gift of Fire by Kate Walker

36 Farming with Fire by Kate Walker

39 Cricket Readers Reccommend

40 The Gardener’s Son by Melissa S Tesher

2 Letterbox

4 Cricket Country by Carolyn Digby Conahan

31 Ugly Bird’s Crossbird Puzzle

45 Cricket League

46 Cricket and Ladybug by Carolyn Digby Conahan

48 Old Cricket Says

cover and border art © 2021 by Rupert Van Wyk

Dear Everybuggy,

I love your mag! I get it from my cousins, who

grew up with Spider I am in my first year of track,

but this is my fourth year of cross-country I used

to play the violin, but I’m such an active person

I couldn’t handle sitting for an hour or two! My

favorite book series is Wings of Fire.

I have an old dog who just turned eighteen My

older brother (he’s twelve) got a malamute He has

a red paw, so his name is—you guessed it—Red!

I’m hoping for a beagle My little sister helped

come up with names My favorite is Quinn.

Hailey, age 11

Longmont, Colorado

Hello!

I joined Chatterbox after I got my first Cricket

magazine Chatterbox is awesome!

I have a pet fish and a pet cat I love to write

and draw and craft I got a typewriter for

Christ-mas, so I am writing even more!

Oaklynn S., age 10

San Diego, California

Hey, Everybuggy!

I have had Cricket for about a year and I have

just loved it! I always ask my mom, “Is the mail for

me?” because I just can’t wait for my magazines to

come! I really love the comics Ladybug, you’re my

favorite character I hope you all are enjoying life!

Romy, age 11

Davis, California

Hi, Everybuggy,

I have four siblings and seven people in my

family My birthday is August 1, so it is a summer

birthday, and I don’t celebrate it at school I am in

fifth grade, and my favorite subject is science I love

Harry Potter and got an invisibility cloak for

Christmas I think my favorite book is the

seventh I play the flute and recorder.

Ladybug, you can always tell

Pussywillow apart from the other

cats by her meow She says mewy,

not mew Just a little tip.

Della R., age 10

Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin

Dear Cricket,

I love donkeys and lions I want

to be a singer, have my own bakery, and maybe design video games when I grow up Also, I want to have

an animal or donkey sanctuary I loooooove working with animals!

I hope to start a sitting business soon! Then I will work

dog-walking-and-my way up to fostering We have only had Pyrenees dogs since my older sibling was born.

I live with three chickens, two guinea pigs, two cats (mama and baby born in our house!) Their names are Destiny, Hope, Faith, Blossom, Nug- get, Bitsy (not anymore!), and Amigo I have two siblings and two parents

I love haiku! Here’s one: Nature is lovely / The birds, bees, and wildlife / What an amazing world!

Donkey Friend #1, age 13 Moscow, Idaho

Dear Cricket, You’re my absolute favorite I love reading and drawing a lot, too Have you read the Percy

Jackson series? I totally love it Also, Eragon is a

nice book.

Renren Ewa Beach, Hawaii Welcome to the first Chatterbox history club!

This is a place for fellow history nerds to talk about important events in history like the Civil War or the Saint Domingue slave uprising You can also talk about your favorite people in history and submit quotes! I really hope this attracts some attention, because history is something I’m pas- sionate about and I would love to talk with other people who feel the same way.

Princess Juniper The Eternal Forest Down to Earth, Chatterbox

Salut, Everybuggy!

I have been learning French,

and salut means hi! Pussywillow,

I’m so glad you didn’t get squashed (January 2021)! That would have

been heartbreaking I’m sorry that Ladybug and Cricket hog all the fun and make you sit on the sidelines

Thankfully, you’re brave and not afraid to meow your mind You’d be amazing in a snowball fight Next time!

Blackfooted Bobcat (January 2021), it’s cool that you’re weaving a tapestry! It’ll be awesome It’s interest- ing to see what hobbies people have picked up during quarantine My twin and I are starting a baking show Other than that, I’ve been video calling with my friends We moved during COVID, away from our old friends I’ve been drawing, reading, and hiking a lot, too I am practically obsessed with the Warriors cats series and I love drawing dragons.

Flamesilk Poulsbo, Washington

P S I love this mag! Everyone says this, and it’s true.

Hi, Everybuggy,

I always love sneaking my little

sister’s Cricket issues into my

closet so I can read them (My sister is very protective about her subscription.) The stories are sooo good, and I always love seeing the contest entries.

I also really like “Cricket try” and “Cricket and Ladybug,”

Coun-seeing as I’d like to be a cartoonist someday Keep doing what you’re doing!

Abby, age 13 Texas

Ants are so cool, as are bugs in general When I

was a little kid, I used to spend hours watching the roly-polies that lived on our sidewalk I like lots of

“weird” animals/creatures, like snakes, rats, and worms In the past I raised some monarch caterpil- lars and then released them once they became butterflies.

Sybill Chirp at Cricket

THIS ONE’S

OOO! WE LOVE CARTOONISTS THEY MAKE THE WORLD A BUGGIER AND BETTER PLACE!

A SNAIL SANCTUARY MIGHT

BE NICE, TOO.

YAY, SCIENCE!

2

Dear Everybuggy,

I hate quarantine and love your mag! I saw

“Katarina and the Bright Falcon” (January–May/

June 2021)! I have a ton of old Cricket mags that

were my mom’s and I usually spend hours trying

to find the different issues that had the rest of

that story in them! So I was very excited when I

realized that Cricket was publishing it again Thanks

a lot, Cricket, for printing stories you have printed

decades ago I’m glad that parents and kids can

re-member reading the same stories! I also loved

the continued stories “Magnus” (October

2018–January 2019) and “In Search Of ”

(January–April 2019).

Ladybug, I think I am similar to you.

Being the oldest of six with number

seven on the way, I am kind of bossy.

Pussywillow, you are adorable SECRET

NOTE TO CRICKET: Don’t let Ladybug

push you around! After all, it is called

“Cricket Country” not “Ladybug

Coun-try.” Keep up the good reading I continue

looking forward to your magazine!

Kylie Watkins, age 13

Bixby, Oklahoma

Greetings, Everybuggy!

Every month I can’t wait to receive your

maga-zine in the mail and I get worried when it’s late.

I’m homeschooled and I have five younger sisters

and brothers I love reading, writing, learning new

languages, and drawing fantasy maps Some of

my favorite books are the Viking Quest series

by Lois W Johnson, Where the Mountain Meets

the Moon by Grace Lin, Annabelle of Anchony by

Ruth Apollonia, and any book by E Nesbit or L M.

Montgomery, author of Anne of Green Gables.

My favorite stories in your mags include “In

Search Of ” and “Magnus.” And I love the

tradi-tional and fairytale stories sprinkled around Keep

going, Cricket! Your magazine is awesome!

Sienna Lowman, age 12

Lorain, Ohio

P S I play the piano and take Irish dance lessons.

Did anyone see the inaugural poet, Amanda

Gorman? I thought she was so amazing! I was in

a state of awe Did you know that she had had a

speech impediment? Up until about three years ago

she couldn’t say the letter r very well

And—Ham-ilton fans are gonna freak out—she taught herself

to say the letter r by listening to “Aaron Burr, Sir!”

She researched for a long time before she actually

started writing her poem, and the thing at the Capitol happened before she was finished, so she added a verse about that! And I’ve been fangirling nonstop since I first heard her, in case any of you are wondering “The

new dawn blooms as we free it / for there is always light, / if only we’re brave enough to see it, / if only we’re brave enough to be it.”

Dolphin, age 13 Down to Earth

Hi, Everyone, I’ve recently gotten into the hobby of ant keep- ing Think of it like the land equivalent of keeping fish, ha-ha I was considering being an entomologist for a while, but I decided I just enjoy bugs as a hobby I think it’s just the coolest thing to catch queens and watch them raise their colonies I caught mine over the winter while they were hibernating under rocks I have carpenter ants, acrobat ants, and a couple other genera.

This year our flock of sheep had seven lambs, and they are the cutest!

We got some really unusual colors this time—a brown one, brown-speckled, and even a black-and-white one.

Micearenice, age 18 Chirp at Cricket Chatterbox Calling all CBers!

This is a mission of gravest tance I think we need a contest here on Blab About Books I’ll start by choosing

impor-a well-known book, one thimpor-at I think himpor-as

a lot of possibilities for cover designs.

Then you can redraw the cover of that book in a different style The idea is:

if you were designing the cover for the book, what would you make it look like?

After a few weeks, I’ll judge the entries, and the winner can choose a book and judge the next round I’ll judge the entries based on which one would make me want to pick up and read the book and also on how well they represent

the book Let’s start with The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Kitten Book Cover Redrawing Contest Blab About Books, Chatterbox Join Kyngdom!

Kyngdom is a large fantasy story made up

of dozens of roleplays The characters and story have been made by many Kyngdomers—kids and teens—over many years It tells about the Powers,

an evil young boy named Catastrophe, and the people, animals, creatures, and beings who are trying to live in these times You can contribute to the story by creating your own characters, work- ing on a complex plot, and roleplaying with others

Being on Kyngdom is a lot of fun, and it’s a great way to improve your writing skills.

Luna-Starr, age 27 eons Kyngdom, Chatterbox

Last summer, my mom just bought me books

to read at camp and on our road trip without ing me They were absolutely amazing But for this summer I decided to make my own booklist Moonlight, age 12

ask-Summer Reading List, Blab About Books

I love to read I also like climbing trees, the smell of wet grass, and Harry Potter I will read anything you throw at me, and it is my favorite thing to spend time doing And I’m pretty much obsessed with koalas.

Dragonfruit, age 11 Australia

“Woodlock Mansion and Summer Excursion

Hotel,” Zach said proudly as he presented the group with a lavish mansion The ski lodgers found that the backyard was, indeed, pretty cool There was an ice cream stand and a pool with three waterslides.

Mx Sam C.

Pudding’s Place The first oranges weren’t actually orange The original oranges from Southeast Asia were a tangerine-pomelo hybrid, and they were actually green Firelily

Random Thoughts Down to Earth Carrots were originally purple,

if I remember right, and the farmers

in the Netherlands did some selective breeding to change them to their country’s national color.

MoonKitten Random Thoughts, Down to Earth

I feel like a wizard I have a shirtish thing that feels like a wizard robe Also, it’s green, like a nature wizard That would be fun! If I were a nature wizard, I could make a tree! Right in the middle of my room! Or backyard!

cardiganish-sweat-Fallen Leaf Random Thoughts, Down to Earth

Send letters to Cricket’s Letterbox,

P.O Box 300, Peru, IL 61354,

or email us at cricket@cricketmedia.com Letters may be edited for length.

TO IT, RIGHT? AND I’VE A SIGN ALLLLL READY

GREENS? OR–(GASP) MAYBE “ORANGE”

MEANT GREEN, BACK THEN!

(GASP)

3

AND I’M HELPING.

MEW!

BUT SOLO MEANS BY YOURSELF,

ON YOUR OWN.

MY SHELL IS MEANT

TO BE CARRIED! I CAN

GO ANYWHERE AND STILL BE HOME, AND LIVE OFF THE LAND

IF I WANT WHICH I DON’T, MOSTLY.

I’M JUST GOING ALONG FOR COMPANY PLUS

I CAN CARRY THE FOOD, WATER, SNACKS, TENT, BLANKETS, PILLOWS, FLASHLIGHT, AND GAMES, IN CASE THINGS GET BORING OUT IN THE WOODS WITH NOTHING TO DO.

SAYS THE GUY WHO CARRIES A FULL-SIZED SHELTER EVERYWHERE!

WATCH OUT FOR TICKS, TOO!

THEY’LL SUCK YOUR BLOOD, LIKE VAMPIRES!

THEY DON’T DRINK BUG BLOOD! OR WORM BLOOD,

EITHER.

ARE WE COMPLETELY,

100 PERCENT SURE OF THAT?

BECAUSE YOU WON’T FIND PIZZA GROWING

IN THE WOODS,

HA HA!

COME BACK! IT’S

!

MEW TICKS (SHIVE

THEY’RE JUST TRYING

TO SCARE

US, PUSS.

WE’RE GOING CAMPING NOW.

GOODBYE!

PRETTY SURE.

MEWY SURE?

HEY! WHO PUT THIS RAVINE HERE?

OF COURSE I’M SURE!

DID YOU MAKE THAT NOISE? VERY FUNNY,

PUSS!

UM.

MEW ?!

MEWY WAIT!

STUPID MAP!

WHY DID IT SEND US TH WAY? NOW ALL OUR STUFF IS SCATTERED.

THE FLASHLIGHT! THE COMPASS! THE FOOOOOD!!

HEY! WHOA WHOA! WHO- O-O-O-A! THAT’S A LOT TO CARRY!

4

It was Bo.

I first met Bo when I volunteered to be

a junior docent at the zoo It was a summer

program our school participated in, where

biology students earned extra credit by

teach-ing little kids about some of the animals I

needed to bring up my biology grade, so I

asked my friend Sue Wang to be my partner

“Melanie, I’ll do this with you,” she said,

“but I’ll do the talking No way will I handle

the animals!”

That was OK with me I like animals

During the training course, our

instruc-tor, Mr Lindsey, talked to each pair of

docents about the animals we would take

at year-round schools When he came toSue and me, he said, “OK, girls, your threeanimals are a hedgehog, a three-banded arma-dillo, and a boa constrictor.”

I felt myself go cold “I have to handle aboa constrictor?”

He smiled “Snakes are a big hit withkids If they learn about snakes through yougirls, little kids will be less likely to fear themand more likely to respect them.”

“They’re not a big hit with me,” I mumbled

Mr Lindsey laughed “You can do it Justwatch me.”

My eyes were glued on the boa as Mr

Lindsey coaxed the reptile from its carrier

Illustrated by Mark Brewer

SNAKES DON’T SCARE ME!

and demonstrated how to hold it The

con-strictor wrapped its powerful, three-foot-long

body around Mr Lindsey’s waist, then calmly

rested its head on his arm “I’ll be taking you

and watching you the first time or two until

I think you’re OK on your own, so don’t

worry,” he said

OK, I thought Maybe I can do this

That night, though, I had a nightmare

I was carrying the snake around a classroom,

showing the kids, when all of a sudden it

started constricting It squeezed and squeezed,

and I couldn’t breathe!

I woke up in a sweat, my body rigid I couldn’t do it I could not spend the summer

with that snake wrapped around my waist!

I was going to have to back out Maybe Mr

Lindsey would let me have another animal

Next day I told him

“Sure you can do it,” he said He slid the door of the snake carrier open “Now

put your elbow in—slowly—and wait for

him to crawl on your arm Elbows aren’t

as threatening to snakes as hands Good,

that’s the way.”

HE WAS CRAWLING UP MY ARM!!!

It felt like well, not like I thought it would

He wasn’t wet or slimy He was dry and

soft! Imagine that But he was crawling on me

And it was scary!

Mr Lindsey stood beside me “Relax, Melanie You need to show him you aren’t

afraid.”

Can snakes tell if you’re lying?

“He needs to trust you, and you need to trust him.”

Yeah, right

He crawled around onto my left arm, and his body wrapped around my waist I gently touched his back He didn’t do anything He was a lot more trusting than I was Pretty bodacious!

I named him Bo

That night at supper I told my family about holding Bo My older brother said,

“Hey, Mel, awesome!” Mom looked queasy, though she smiled encouragingly Dad slapped me a high five!

ALL MY CAREFULLY built up confidence

lasted until the next time I had to pick Bo

up We were at our first school visit Mr Lindsey gave me a nod of encouragement

as he delivered the junior docents to theirassi

to haboTh

it whadspin

so Itogeachbitkeefrommethethetly,

squ

hold each animal in turn, while Sue toldout their habits—what they ate and stuff

en the kids could touch them

I started with the little hedgehog because was cute and most kids

d never seen one Itsnes were pretty sharp,

I cupped my palmsether and moved

h hand just a tiny

up and down to

p the spikes

m pricking I smiled atkids “Touchh

spines

gen-now.” Duh.

Theyuealed and

6

laughed and yanked their hands back When

I turned the little creature over to show them

its soft tummy—where a predator could get

him if he didn’t roll himself into a spiky

ball—he wouldn’t unroll Poor thing To him,

we probably were predators.

The three-banded armadillo was a disaster

from day one I don’t know what the zoo fed

that animal, or if he was just scared, but he

had diarrhea It was disgusting And he had it

all summer

“And now for the finale,” I said “I’ve

saved the best for last How many of you have

ever touched a boa constrictor?” I wish I had

a picture of their expressions They didn’t

know whether to be excited or scared I took

my time, drawing out the suspense I got the

carrier off the floor and put it on the teacher’s

lifted him out I could hear the kids sucking

in their breath Bo made himself comfortable, wrapping around my waist and resting his head on my left arm He was his calm, cool self I relaxed Walking triumphantly around the classroom, I let the kids touch him gently

Piece of cake

AFTER A FEW school visits, they got easier

I began to really like my boa and was pretty much at ease with him Mr Lindsey had begun training another class of docents, so Sue and I were mostly on our own once the zoo van dropped us off

Then came the day I will never forget

Sue was giving her talk I took each mal around the room, as usual, for the kids

pdesk She didn’t look happy about that

Suddenly I realized I wasn’t real happy,

either I wasn’t as scared as I had been, but I

wasn’t totally not I was glad Mr Lindsey was

just down the hall

I took a deep breath, opened the sliding

door of the carrier, and stuck my right elbow

inside Bo slithered around my arm, and I

hedgehog, and wrinkled their noses

at the armadillo, who always smelled like diarrhea

It wastime for Bo

I opened thecarrier andtook him

7

out Sue talked about how boas live mostly

in rain forests in Central and South America

“They’re called constrictors,” she explained,

“because they squeeze small mammals and

birds to death before swallowing them whole.”

True, but not exactly a confidence booster

My turn As I walked around the

class-room, I said, “Don’t be afraid See, he’s a nice

boa constrictor His skin is not slimy It’s cool

and dry You can touch him gently, here, on

his back His name is Bo.”

Most of the kids actually did touch him,

and everything went fine until one boy, for

some unknown reason, tapped Bo on the

head with his knuckles

I froze

Immediately Bo began to constrict, and

I tensed up even more He squeezed tighter

I must have looked scared, because the kids

screamed and the teacher practically shoved

them out of the classroom And my partner

went with them! Sue actually left me!

My worst nightmare had come true! I

pan-icked I am too young to die! Think! Think! What

am I supposed to do? I remembered that Mr

Lindsey said Bo needed to know I wasn’t afraid

OK I am not afraid I am not afraid I stood

very still and tried as hard as I could to relax

Please, Bo! You’re OK now You can trust me.

Little by little I felt Bo loosen his grip It

was working! I eased over to the carrier and

stuck my arm inside After what seemed like

forever, he slid off I closed the carrier door

and stood there, shaking

The kids had been watching from the hall

They came back in and went to their desks

I looked around at their faces “Getting hit in the head scared Bo,” I said, “and he did what came naturally to him But he calmed down when I did, and he did not hurt me

Snakes don’t generally bother people unless people bother them Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone.”

I think they glommed onto that idea pretty fast The teacher stood beside the boy who had hit Bo, and he apologized Then she thanked us for coming But I could tell from her fake smile that she couldn’t wait for us to get out of there

ON THE WAY back to the zoo in the van,

Sue kept apologizing “I’m so sorry, Mel I just panicked I feel awful!”

Well, she shouldn’t have left me, but I don’t actually know what she could have done

to help except maybe give me moral support

“I forgive you, I guess,” I said “But you know what? After it was over I really felt sorry for Bo It wasn’t his fault If somebody had hit

me on the head, I’d have reacted, too.”

Sue later told me she looked up my birthday on the Chinese calendar and found out I was born in the Year of the Snake

“Maybe all you ‘snake people’ are geous,” she said

I looked it up on Google It said that people born in the Year of the Snake are “wise, usually good looking, hard workers, and lucky with money.” OK, it didn’t say courageous, but

I could live with the other good stuff!

Oh, and guess what? This is really intense I got an A in biology!

SUE RAN OFF! YOU’D NEVER LEAVE ME, WOULD YOU?.

HA! THAT WOULD

BE A STRETCH.

9

Santa’s Summer Vacation

by J Patrick Lewis

Eight reindeer fly Across July

To get suntanned

In surf and sand.

They spread the news

In Santa Cruise Where movie queens

In limousines Cure Mrs Claus’s Winter blahs, While Santa laughs, Signs autographs—

Love, Santa C.

His fantasy?

To dip a toe

In that big cean, knowing they Can holiday, And just this once, For two whole months, Enjoy themselves

o-Without the elves.

Illustrated by Darren Thompson

10

When most people think of beehives, they picture a skep beehive,

which is like a round basket woven from grass But most

beekeep-ers no longer use this type of hive,

because it is destroyed during

honey harvesting Modern

bee-hives are made of movable frames

inside wooden boxes that stack

on top of each other There are

two common sizes: medium or

deep Deep boxes can weigh as

much as you do—between fifty

and ninety pounds when full of

bees and honey So many

bee-keepers choose medium-sized

boxes, which are easier to lift

A stack of three to five boxes

makes a nice apiary, or home,

for a colony of bees, having only

one queen for all the boxes

to adopt 60,000 low-maintenance pets, then honeybees are the perfect friends for you Even your mom might approve! Other pets rely on humans for everything—warmth, protection, exercise and play, food and water, and the most-dreaded

“duty,” poop cleanup Since honeybees take care

of themselves in virtually every way, beekeeping

is mostly a stewardship This means that the beekeeper will just watch over

and protect the bees After the first spring inspection, a good beekeeper will

check on them once every three to four weeks through the summer and fall,

until it’s time to extract, or take out, the honey

by Stephanie Jackson

Bees have built a honeycomb

on this removable frame

Bee season begins as the weather warms up, about the third week in April Bees hibernate during the winter (called overwintering), so this is the time that they “wake up” and begin flying about They are hungry and looking for nectar Beekeepers sometimes feed the bees with sugar water for the first couple of weeks until more plants are blooming and more nectar is available to make honey, which the bees store and eat.Bees can find drinking water themselves, but most urban beekeeping laws require beekeepers to provide fresh water Bees remember flight patterns and return to the first water source they find, so it’s important to establish a water source before introducing the hive to your property Good water sources would be a basin at the bottom of a rain gutter, a slow leak from

a rain barrel onto a board, or a bird bath with floating corks Bees need a place to land—like floating corks, or rocks and sticks—so they can drink

Do beekeepers clean up after bees? Bees are tidy creatures If other bees die, they clear the dead bees out of the hive If wasps or hornets try

to rob the hive, they kill them and remove the bodies Even during wintering, bees take “cleansing flights” away from the colony to go pee and poop Beekeepers like to keep tidy apiaries, too, and one problem—which isn’t a problem in the wild—is

over-brace comb Also called burr orbridge comb, it is simply honey-comb the bees have built in aplace that gets in the beekeep-er’s way Beekeepers remove

it during inspections

To inspect a hive, abeekeeper begins by get-ting dressed in special gear

First, the beekeeper slips on awhite long-sleeved shirt that has

a hat with a netted veil attached

Next are some canvas gloves that

Beekeepers wear

protec-tive gear when inspecting

hive boxes or harvesting

honey Using a smoker

causes the bees to “hunker

down” or stay still Ready

to evacuate the hive due

to fire, the bees also eat

honey, which makes them

less able to sting.

WELL, OF COURSE THERE’S ONLY ONE QUEEN BEE AHEM.

MEWY YOUR HIGHNESS!

’SCUSE ME, I’VE GOT TO GO ON A

12

go high up the keeper’s arms, like ballroom gloves Thick

denim pants and solid athletic shoes complete the outfit

Only two tools are truly needed to work with bees:

a smoker and a hive tool Hive tools are small metal

crow bars that serve multiple purposes Among them are

scraping brace comb, lifting frames, and separating hive

boxes The smoker looks like a teapot with a small

accor-dion called a bellows When it is pumped, smoke builds

up in the smoker and pours out the top Beekeepers smoke their bees to

sedate them and keep them from flying too much during inspections

Knowing that bees take care of themselves, good beekeepers show

restraint rather than interfering with the hive too often When they do

peek inside, they are looking for brood (bee babies) and checking on

honey production If there are little white dots visible in the capped-off

cells, then the next batch of bees is growing—the hive is “pregnant.”

Since worker bees only live about six weeks, there should always be brood

During bee season, beekeepers adjust the number of boxes in an apiary to

give the bees the perfect amount of space to control the temperature and

to encourage honey production

As bees collect nectar, they move a dust-like powder, pollen, from

one part of the flower to another Plants must be pollinated to

pro-duce seeds or fruit Bees pollinate one-third of the foods you eat,

including fruits, nuts, vegetables, herbs, and spices

A bee stores the nectar

it collects in its honey stomach, separate from its regular stomach When

it returns to the hive, the bee regurgitates the nectar, passing it to a house bee With the help of enzymes

in a bee’s honey stomach, the nectar becomes honey, which bees eat and store for winter.

SEDATE MEANS TO

CALM OR SOOTHE.

WHY ARE BEES SOOTHED BY WOOD SMOKE?

MAYBE THEY’RE SECRET FANS OF CAMPING, CAMPFIRES, AND MARSHMALLOWS!

13

Bees seldom need protection, but depending on where you live, you might need to take a couple of precautions Micesometimes try to move in for the winter months, so theycan live somewhere warm and eat all the honey If this is the case, you can attach some chicken wire to the bot-tom hive entrance As issues arise—and often there are none—a beekeeper responds calmly.

In fact, staying calm is the only trait you need to be agood beekeeper Of course, from

time to time, bees may get inside

a beekeeper’s suit Staying calm,moving away from the colony, andremoving your bee suit is usually all it takes

to remedy the situation Honeybees are tle and don’t like to sting, since they die afterdoing so

gen-When it’s time to harvest the honey, beekeepershave a couple of choices If your only goal is to be a guard-ian or steward over the bees, you can leave all the honey for the bees If you hoose to harvest, the manual option is to “crush and strain” the comb It’s

a quick process using simple tools: a bucket, a straining cloth, and a potato masher Another option is a spin extractor, which uses centrifugal force to

separate the honey from the waxy comb

As you can see, keeping can be as involved

bee-or as easy as you make it Bees are the ultimate pets because they take care of their own needs, pollinate and beautify the garden, and produce one of thesweetest treats around.Honeybees are verygentle, and beekeeping is

a safe hobby to share with your favorite adult

A comb tool can be used

to remove the wax caps

on the honeycomb cells

Many plants that are

considered weeds—like

dandelions—are

actu-ally one of the first food

sources for bees i ring,

With a parent’s help, check your city

ordinances and homeowner association

guidelines to make sure that residential

beekeeping is allowed where you live

You may need to register with your state’s

Department of Agriculture.

The upfront cost can be hundreds of

dollars for one set of hives and removable

frames ($300), a bee package with queen

($100), a suit ($40–$80), gloves ($20), a

hive tool ($10), and smoker ($20) Other

equipment may be recommended by other

beekeepers, but most is unnecessary.

Unlike with other pets, costs throughout the season will be nominal, if any.

It’s a good idea to take a keeping class or find a local mentor.

bee-Although maintenance is easy, you may benefit from advice about where to place your hive, what type of bees to order (Italians are gentle and produce lots of honey, so they’re great for begin- ners), and how to inspect the hive for brood A quality class will cover all the basics and honey harvesting.

AUGUST 21 IS NATIONAL HONEYBEE DAY!

WHEN’S MY NATIONAL DAY? LET’S HEAR IT FOR LADYBUG DAY!

HERE, NOMINAL MEANS NOT MUCH, NOT A LOT.

14

He appeared on the doorstep one day

Both big and small in size

A dog of mixed-bag breeds

We decided to call him Heinz

For Dad, he’d work all day

Running with the sheep

He asked for little in return

A pat, kind words, a sleep

To Mum, he was a protector

Of danger, he had no fear

Any threat around, he’d bark it down

No stranger would dare come near

The baby, she had him intrigued Crawling around the house

Nose to the ground, he followed her round Like a cat on the trail of a mouse

After school, he’d wait at the gate We’d play till the sun’s last light Exhausted but happy, inside for tea He’d sleep by my bed at night

To each, he was something different Loyal, right up to the end

That bitzer, mongrel, mixed up mutt Worker, protector best friend.

by J eannie M eekins

text © 2021 by Jeannie Meekins

Heinz

15

“Mm-hmm!” replies Krishna’s little sister, Anjuli She stands at attention and nods her

head quickly, her shiny black ponytail

bob-bing behind her

“I’m going to be a famous expert on bugs and bug catching soon,” says Krishna, watch-

ing the raisin-sized fly land on the coffee

table She creeps toward it

“What’s an expert?” asks Anjuli

“Someone that knows all about thing That’s me, so listen and learn

some-“Lesson one: If a bug wanders into the apartment, put a cup over it and then slide

something underneath to seal it in,” she says,

holding up a paper cup and museum

post-card “Then carry it outside to freedom

“Lesson two: Houseflies have two big, red eyes that are really good at seeing movement.”

“Actually,” says Anjuli, “they have three

sets of eyes, made of thousands of tiny eyes.”

“What?” says Krishna, freezing in midstep

“We learned about it in school There’s a middle set they use for direction They—”

“No interrupting! Like I was saying,” says

Krishna, “they’re good at spotting movement

But if you move slowly enough, they won’t see

you.”

“SO, YOU WANT to keep bugs safe

from Mom’s fly swatter, huh, short stuff?”

asks Krishna Her eyes follow a housefly lazily

zigzagging around the apartment living room

Just before Krishna can lower the cup over the housefly, it zips away Krishna frowns

“Krishna, wouldn’t it be easier if you—”

“I’m the teacher You’re the humble dent More humbling, less mumbling!”

stu-“But wouldn’t—”

“Zip it!”

Anjuli stomps off to the kitchen

Some people think they know everything,

thinks Krishna

She walks over to the fly’s new spot on the couch and bends down Her hand trem-bles as she slowly lowers the cup

Suddenly, a pink fly swatter whisks past her face and slaps right in front of her

“Gah!” yells Krishna, crashing back onto her butt She gets a glimpse of the fly zipping away

“Mom!” says Krishna “I almost had him!

Or her.”

“So did I,” says Krishna’s mom She points

the swatter at Krishna with a swish “I can’t let

bugs fly around while you tiptoe after them all day And now you’ve got your sister at it!”

Krishna’s mom points the fly swatter

toward the kitchen with a swoosh Anjuli is

sticking out her tongue in concentration She slides a junk mail postcard under a clear, upside-down cup on the counter

“I did it! I caught a baby housefly!”

Her mother sighs and drops the fly swatter to her side “We’re leaving for your

The Expert

by G G Russey

Illustrated by Lemady Rochard

text © 2021 by David Turka, art © 2021 by Lemady Rochard

THOSE GIRLS ARE SO NICE, TRYING TO SAVE THE BUGS.

YES, BUT LOOK OUT FOR MOM!

16

grandparents’ house in a few minutes Please

make sure you’re ready to go,” she says before

walking off to her bedroom

“Look, Krishna!” says Anjuli, skipping

over “I heard what you said about flies not

seeing you and figured a clear cup would be

almost invisible to them And it lets you see

what you’re doing.”

“Gimme that!” Krishna says, snatching

the cup and card The fly has red eyes, but it’s

tiny—about the size of a pen tip

“That’s no housefly, small fry It’s a fruit

fly,” says Krishna “It’s always important to

are easy to catch I’ll show you some real bug

catching I’ll use this cup to catch that housefly while the fruit fly’s still in it.”

“I don’t know about that,” says Anjuli

“I know you don’t know—watch and learn.”

Krishna spots the housefly high on the wall Standing under it, she goes onto her tiptoes and slowly reaches her arms as high as they’ll go She starts to move the cup over the housefly, when—

e-17

“Girls, are you ready?”

“In a minute, Mom,” calls Krishna, ing her head

turn-“Now!” says her mom

Krishna turns back to the cup

Both flies are gone!

“Where—?” asks Krishna

bags As the girls leave with their mother, a

fruit fly crawls across a bowl of ripe tomat

on the kitchen counter

late after a four-hour drive As they peek in

the front door, they see Grandpa in his

read-ing glasses, halfway through a thick mystery

book Grandma snores in a chair beside him

Krishna watches Anjuli tiptoe over to Grandma, smiling at Grandpa on the way

Anjuli gently picks up a corner of her

grand-ma’s sari, running her fingers over the golden

threads that catch the lamplight

“Got’cha!” shouts Grandma, grabbing Anjuli and pulling her close

“Grandma!” squeals Anjuli “I thought you were asleep!”

“Oh, no,” says Grandpa, glancing up

from his book “If she were really sleeping,

you would have heard her snoring from the

Well, almost everyone

“Lesson time, short stuff,” says Krishna, a few inches from Anjuli’s ear

Anjuli wakes with a gasp and falls out of bed Krishna turns on a lamp

“You’ll need this,” whispers Krishna, ing Anjuli a heavy old metal flashlight Still waking up, Anjuli doesn’t catch it and the

toss-fl shlight hits her in the stomach

“Oof!” she calls out

“Shh!” scolds Krishna “Do you want to wake everyone?”

Krishna picks up a clear glass and a thin scrap of cardboard

She walks to the bathroom Light spills from the edges of the closed door Krishna knocks to make sure the bathroom’s empty She enters quickly, motioning for Anjuli to follow Krishna squints, her eyes getting used

to the light

Anjuli yawns “What’s the flashlight for?”

“Advanced bug catching,” says Krishna, looking up at a moth flying around the light

“Point your flashlight up there.”

Krishna turns off the bathroom light, leaving only the light from Anjuli’s flash-light The moth keeps flying around the ceiling

“Now,” says Krishna, “move the lightdown to the wall near me The mo ill fol-low, and I’ll put the glass over it.”

toes

i

fla

A SARI IS A LONG PIECE OF COTTON

OR SILK CLOTH WORN WRAPPED AND DRAPED ABOUT THE BODY

18

The moth follows Anjuli’s spotlight across the ceiling and down the wall, flying this way and that around it.

Krishna tries to trap the moth, but it

won’t stay still She can’t risk rushing and hurting it Finally, Krishna sees a split-second opportunity and makes her move

“And that’s how it’s done, Anjuli.”

With the moth safely trapped, the girls head for the front door On the way, Krishna trips on a rug and almost falls over

“Gah! Can’t see anything in here.”

She finds the switch for the overhead light and flicks it on with her elbow

“OK, short stuff—open the door so we can show out our guest and get some sleep,” whispers Krishna

“But shouldn’t we turn off—”

“Anjuli! Your next lesson is to listen to your teacher!” hisses Krishna

“But if we open—”

“Now!”

Anjuli winces and opens the door for her sister As Krishna steps outside, several moths dart inside to fly around the light

“Oh,” says Krishna

their apartment

“What a drive,” says Krishna’s mom “I’m going to lie down for a while.”

“OK, Mom,” the girls say together

Krishna pulls a bottle of orange juice

from the refrigerator and sets it on the ter As she does, dozens of fruit flies rise from

coun-a necoun-arby bowl of overripe tomcoun-atoes

T

“What?” asks Anjuli, dragging her bags

Krishna points at the spreading cloud of bugs

The girls get to work catching and ing the tiny flies They find them not just by

free-the tomatoes, but on cabinet doors, bottles of

herbs and spices, hanging pots—every

sur-face, nook, and cranny Some they scoop right

out of the air

After half an hour, Krishna worries her mom will wake up and start swatting

“There’s too many,” she says “We’re not going fast enough.”

“Sorry,” says Anjuli “I’m trying.”

She’s caught more than I have, thinks

Krishna “We need a new approach,” she says

Anjuli looks at her, waiting

“Well,” says Krishna, “have you got any ideas, sis?”

“Oh!” says Anjuli, her eyes going wide

“You said they’ll find stuff they like Why not put some bait in something they can get into but not out of?”

Krishna stares at her Anjuli bites her lower lip

“I think you just graduated.”

Anjuli beams

The girls work together Anjuli finds

a clean jar in the recycling bin Krishna drops in a slice of tomato and a few drops of vinegar

“Be careful it’s not too wet in there, or they could drown,” says Anjuli Krishna nods.Anjuli makes a paper cone for the t

the jar to funnel flies inside

g

20

The trap is set.

Krishna shoos some leftover fruit flies

from the tomatoes and covers the bowl with a

dishcloth The sisters look at their handiwork,

then back at each other

“Might as well keep catching any we can,

partner,” says Krishna

Anjuli smiles and nods

After a while, they see some flies in the

trap Krishna takes the trap outside, with

Anjuli managing the door for her Krishna

lifts out the cone and taps the side of the jar

until all the fruit flies have flown away When

the girls head back to the kitchen, they see

their mom leaning against the hall wall

“Hi, Mom,” says Anjuli

“How long have you been up?” asks

The girls look at each other

“Yeah,” they both say

“Well,” says their mom, “from now on,how about if when I see one, I don’t reach for

my fly swatter—I reach for my great team ofbug catchers instead?”

“Yeah!” says Krishna “I could show youhow to catch them too, Mom I’m a reallygood teacher Just ask Anjuli.”

“Bugs were never my favorite subject,”

says the girls’ mom “I’ll leave it to theexperts.”

text © 2021 by Charles Ghigna

THOSE GIRLS ARE SMART, BUT THEY’D NEVER CATCH ME!

OH! MEW!

21

Uganda is a fertile country, and every home had its shamba—a garden plot of banana trees, coffee bushes, cas-sava, maize, oranges, and peanuts And, of course, baboons love all those delicious things They used to come down out

of the bush and raid the shambas People would rush out and pelt them with stones

One day a man brought a badly injured young female baboon to my father, handed her to him, and demanded a few shillings My father bought the young baboon and car-ried her in his arms to his laboratory He felt she was too young to die and he wanted to give her a life He and an assistant operated on her for hours, repairing her terrible injuries, and they nursed her through her convalescence, spoiling her with every treat they could find They named her Josephine Josephine recovered and became devoted to my father She was so tame and gentle that she won all hearts, and my father let her roam free in the grass enclosures around his laboratories

Whenever we went to my father’s labs, there was Josephine sitting in the sun, grooming her legs or pottering around searching for insects to gobble She would run to greet us—my father first He submitted to having his leg hairs groomed and his socks and shoes inspected Nimble black fingers with neat nails would explore everything to make sure there were no ticks or fleas on him and would pick grass seeds from his socks to nibble If he was wearing

WHEN WE LIVED in Uganda, my father, a

physiologist, worked with animals of all kinds, from elephants to chimps and tiny bush babies But one of our favorites was Josephine

by Cicely van Straten

Illustrated by Jed Alexander

text © 2021 by C A Van Straten, art © 2021 by Jed Alexander

Our Lady Josephine

UGANDA IS IN EAST AFRICA.

A PHYSIOLOGIST IS A KIND OF BIOLOGIST CONVALESCENCE

IS THE PROCESS OF RECOVERY.

BUSH BABIES ARE SMALL PRIMATES WITH BIG EYES.

22

trousers, she would go carefully through the turnups, or cuffs Only after all that would she greet us children!

Baboons are omnivorous They will eat insects, birds’ eggs, even scorpions with the stings cleverly removed! But their favorite is termites—fat, white, juicy termites But also fish And this was Josephine’s foible She could not resist fish!

My father’s department at the university was close to the hospital Every

Friday at lunchtime the smell of cooking fish wafted from the hospital kitchen Suddenly Josephine was nowhere to be seen Then the phone would ring and an angry voice would announce, “Professor, your baboon is in the kitchen again! Come and fetch her immediately!”

Dad would hurry over to the kitchen and find Josephine sitting on the cutting table The staff stood back respectfully while she held a fish, head in one hand, tail in the other, and nibbled luxuriously from side to side She never

fish-A FOIBLE IS fish-A MINOR WEfish-AKNESS

OR QUIRK OF CHARACTER.

threatened the kitchen staff, never pounced or bit, just calmly entered—believing she was welcome everywhere—and gobbled as much fish as she could.

You must never shout at baboons or treat them roughly My father only had to stand in the doorway, hold out his hand, and say quietly,

“Josephine.” She would meekly climb down from the table, take his hand, and be walked home to the labs again Baboons have large pouches at the sides of their mouths, and they store food in them As they walked home, Josephine would gradually munch through her stolen fish, savoring her Friday lunch

Well, the kitchen staff tried shutting the kitchen doors, but Josephine would appear hopefully at a window Uganda is hot and steamy You can’t cook all day with doors and windows closed In the end, the cooks had had enough and threatened to report Dad to “higher authorities.” So every Friday, after morning tea break, Dad had to fasten a leash around Josephine’s tummy and tie her to her little wooden house, with a plastic bowl of legitimate lunch beside her

Baboons are very intelligent Some were trained to lead ox wagons

In South Africa a baboon had been trained by a lame stationmaster to sweep the floor, push his trolley (jumping on for a free ride when going downhill), and even to operate the signal box to change the tracks for approaching trains

A new faculty building had been erected on the Makerere University campus As a member of the University Medical School, my father was told to prepare a speech for the grand opening

Now, Dad wasn’t into that sort of thing He detested long-winded meetings and speeches and anything official and pompous So he began coaching Josephine in secret

When the great day arrived, all the university dignitaries assembled outside the new faculty building A wide, red ribbon had been drawn across the brand-new entrance Where was my Dad? A bit late, perhaps, as usual? Then he appeared, suitably dressed for once, in trousers, jacket, and tie, holding Josephine by the hand She was carrying a large pair of scis-sors My Dad made the shortest speech ever given and then said that the new building would be officially opened by My Lady Josephine and he moved forward to the red ribbon, and with great dignity and correctness,

HERE, A TROLLEY

IS A SMALL CART WITH WHEELS, USED LIKE A WHEELCHAIR.

POMPOUS MEANS FUSSY AND SELF- IMPORTANT

RACE YA, SLUGGO!

24