MAGAZINES
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I enjoy writing stories and
poems
for the Cricket
Group magazines.
One story, “Kotoshi the Dragon
Doctor,”
was included in their hard
cover anthology, Fire
and Wings
(Cricket Books,
2002).
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Kotoshi,
instead
of
being
eaten by a dragon,
or killing
it,
not only heals a
dragon baby’s
wounded wing, she
discovers
that its mother much
prefers
eating fish to
sacrificial maidens.
The story continues
in “Kotoshi
the Love Doctor” (Cricket,
May 2007) when
Kotoshi
meets a poetic
patient she
can’t (or perhaps
doesn’t
really want) to
cure.
Art by Daniel Powers
for
"Kotoshi the Love Doctor"
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Here is a list
of
more stories:
“Spider Soup,” Spider,
6/1995
A Liberian
folktale starring a greedy and
selfish spider.
“The Salted Mushroom,” Cricket,
11/2003
In 15th
century China a wealthy salt merchant
plans to live forever.
“Reina Sardina,” Spider,
3/2004
A magic fish
grants Pepe’s mother an
unexpected wish.
“Tukama and the Duppy,” Spider,
6/2005
Can Tukama
outwit a mischievous Duppy?
“Marco and the Magic Seeds,” Spider,
5/2004
Marco’s magic
beans turn out to be squash
seeds, and the weedwoman is not a
fee-fi-fo-fumming, treasure-hoarding
ogre.
“Love Leaves” & “Basket of Love,”
both in Cricket, 2/2003
Two Chinese
courtship festivals and how they
began.
“The Ox-Star,” Spider,
8/1996
When Shang Ti
sends Ox to Earth with an
important message, mixed-up Ox makes a
big mistake.
“The Moth Prince,” Cricket,
11/1999
A
spoiled
Chinese prince
awakens from a dream
that he’d become a moth.
But maybe it wasn’t a dream.
“The Moth Prince” is one
of my favorite stories.
Among its
inspirations:
a tour of a Chinese silk
factory
in 1990 and a famous
dream
in the Taoist classic,
Chuang Tzu:
When the sage, Chuang Chou
awoke, he didn’t know if he
was a butterfly dreaming
of Chou or Chou
dreaming
he was a butterfly!
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Art
by Linda
S.Wingerter
for “The
Moth Prince” |
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“Hair and Feathers,” Cricket,
11/1996
How can bald
Bandong court Nanka, his true
love, if he has no hair for her to
comb?
“Biscuit Boy,” Ladybug,
4/1996
With a bugle
and a song, shy Sidney sells
Mama’s biscuits in the marketplace
“Princess Shen-ming and the Wise Man,”
Cricket,
8/1996
A practical
princess wisely interprets a
simple man’s comments.
“The Little-Like-Me Baby,” Ladybug,
4/2000
Who does a
baby platypus look like?
Art by Ponder Goembel
for “The Little-Like-Me Baby”
“The Bits-and-Pieces Platypus,” Ladybug,
4/2000
Facts about
the platypus.
“The Promise of Seged,” co-author,
David Gershator, Spider,
11/2000
The Jews of
Ethiopia celebrate the holiday of
Seged--and reach the land of their
dreams and prayers.
“Coyote’s Coat,” Spider,
4/1999
Will Coyote
never be satisfied with the color
of his fur?
“Kot kot kot kodatch...,” Ladybug,
7/2000
A boastful
Hungarian hen takes a ride on a
bike.
“Tiyoro and the Kissing Bird,” Cricket,
2/2006
A tale from
Mali: subborn girl meets stubborn
bird.
“Nu Wa and the Yellow Clay,” Spider,
4/2005
A Chinese
myth of creation featuring the snaky
goddess Nu Wa.
“Vive l’Artiste!” Cricket,
10/2005
When a
Haitian artist, inspired by the
spirits, paints his finest painting,
will he sell it?
“The Butterfly Test,” Cricket,
5/2006
If an
indecisive prince can’t make up his
mind
what to wear or what to eat, how will
he ever choose a wife?
“Promises,” Cricket, 8/2007
A classic
tale from the Panchatantra,
in which a young
woman marries a snake.
“Ancestor Dog,” Cricket,
9/2008
A legendary
“Beauty and the Beast” story from
China.
“Barbarian’s Bride,” Cricket,
5-6/2009
Who will be
chosen to wed the Barbarian?
Surely not the Emperor’s favorite!
“Seek the Sun,” Spider,
9/2009
A true story
from Japan.
“The Beggar Prince and the Honest
Princess,” Cricket, 4/2011
A classic
tale, retold from the Panchatantra,
in which a disowned
daughter is married to a sickly
beggar.
Art by Uma
Krishnaswamy
for "The Beggar Prince
and the Honest Princess"
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"The Lonely Goat," Ladybug,
2/2012
A goat looks
everywhere for his family. Where did
everybody go?
“Wu-tu,” Cricket, 3/2012
From the
ancient annals of Chinese history:
valiant
soldier, precious stone, greedy king,
beautiful maiden....
Highlights!
I was lucky that a story I
wrote, "The
Tennin's Robe," inspired by a
classical Japanese tale, appeared
in a
wonderful issue of Highlights
magazine, April 2008. That issue
includes some amazing facts about
the
brain plus a
true story about the famous candy
maker
Milton S. Hershey.
Poems in the
Cricket
Group Magazines:
“At the Holocaust Memorial Museum,” Cicada,
5-6/2001
Where does
tolerance start?
“After the Storm,” co-author, David
Gershator, Cricket, 4/2000
Treasure on the beach.
“Mosquito catcher,” Spider,
6/2001
My
friend the lizard.
“Don’t call my name,” Cricket,
5/2000
Why not? Read on:
DON’T
CALL MY NAME
Please
don’t call
my name--
I’m
reading a book.
Please
don’t call
my name.
Don’t
ask me to
clean up my room
and
take out the
trash.
No,
I don’t want to
go shopping.
I’m
not ready to
play.
Please
don’t call
my name--
I’m
reading a book.
I’m
far away.
I’m
busy.
I’m
making new
friends.
I
know all their
secrets
except
for a few,
so
please,
don’t
call my name.
I’m
reading a book
and
I can’t answer
your call
till
I see how it
ends.
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