Dear Everybuggy, Happy fiftieth birthday to Cricket! I have been a faithful reader since my first issue landed in my mailbox in August 1986. My bedside bookshelf holds the treasure of my entire Cricket collection (including the early years thanks to my dear mom tracking down all the issues for me!), and I regularly pull out past issues to brighten my day.
Back in 1995 when I left for college, I worried that I wouldn’t find the time to keep reading Cricket . . . or worse that I would outgrow it. Happily, that has never happened, and Cricket has been my companion for thirty-seven years.
The illustrations and covers of Cricket have been particularly dear to me. When I was younger, I had a party trick where someone could name a month and year and I would describe the cover and then pull it out to wow them with my accuracy. Some favorite covers that I think of even now are January 1988 (Hilary Knight), March 1989 (David Wiesner), February 1992 (Lynette Hemmant), and probably my favorite: February 1987 (the magnificent Trina Schart Hyman). What a delight it was in 1993 when the magazine’s interior got full color!
There are so many instances in for the knowledge. St. Patrick’s Day is my favorite holiday, and it’s hard to explain to the world that it’s because of the stories and the magic. Apparently most people didn’t have fanciful tales about leprechauns or the fair folk filling their hearts. The stories ring inside me.
