Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Cricket, The Magazine for Children

Cricket's Choice
Cover Illustration by Trina Schart Hyman
There were many influences on my literary and artistic sensibilities, but few with more impact than Cricket, the magazine for children, which I first encountered in the form of Cricket's Choice.  Published in 1974, this
collection marked the magazine's one-year anniversary.  It was filled with stories, poems, plays, riddles, and pictures . . . lots of pictures.  It was a year before I thought to look for Cricket at the library, but there it was on the magazine rack.  The subscription card went home with me that day, and in April 1979, I received my very first issue.



Cricket Magazine was begun in September of 1973.  For the full story, I highly recommend the 30th anniversary book Celebrate Cricket.



 It was in the pages of Cricket that I discovered the buggies of Cricket Country along with many of my favorite authors and illustrators.  The magazine went through changes in size, color, and format.  Eventually the subtitle "the magazine for children" was dropped, because as Clifton Fadiman so wisely reminded us, it was just as coveted by "those grown-ups who are still children at heart."  It is still going strong nearly forty years later.  Over the years the original has been joined by a whole family of magazines, covering a range of interests and age groups, including those from Cobblestone Publishing.

So thank-you to Marianne, Cliff, Lloyd, Trina, and the many others who shaped the destiny of Cricket.  Thank-you for an enduring legacy of "the rarest kind of best."

2 comments:

  1. HI EVERYBODY AT CRICKET! I wanted to congratulate you on so many years of amazing children's inspiration with your books and award-winning publications! I just came across an issue of Cricket that I have, that survived Katrina here in New Orleans at our house. We lost tons of books, but also many survived without damage. I obtained my first issue of Cricket in Los Angeles. And it is January 1973, Cricket, The Magazine for Children, Volume 1, Number 1, with the artwork that seems to also be on your September 1973 issue I found on the internet! Marianne was Editor in Chief even then, and I'm thrilled to find you are all doing well, all these years later! What an amazing blast from the past!!!! Patty Lee St. Martin in New Orleans

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It's always great to hear from another Cricket fan. I am so sorry to hear about your library, but I'm glad you were able to salvage some of it, especially the Cricket Magazine. The cover was always one of my favorite parts of the magazine, so I will post about the volume 1 cover art on Wednesday, May 16. See you then!

      Delete

Thank-you for taking time to share your thoughts!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.