contest winners

Muse, Jul/Aug 2005

THE BEAUTY OF THE BEAST

In the February issue, we asked you to write us a poem in praise of your favorite zoo animal. We got the usual cloud leopards and giraffes and (oddly) quite a few zookeepers. Some people even managed to sneak in the Muses (hey, cut that out or were going to start deducting points for Muses in contest entries!). Here are some of our favorite entries, and as usual you can find more on the Web at www.cricketmag.com. Click on "For Kids" when you get there.

The Clouded Leopard

A ripple of movement beneath the rainforest's trees.

The birds continue to call.

Not a soul notices until the prey of the clouded leopard does fall.

This creature of deathly grace; the shadows of trees imprinted upon her face.

Perfect camouflage upon the fur, merging with the dappled sunlight to hide her.

She creeps through the shadows to stalk her prey, then just as quietly creeps away.

Aya Y., age 13

New York

Haiku of a Bat

Silenced on black wings

The lone bat flies across the sky

Carrying with him the night

Caitlin M., age 14

California

Emus (Emues? Emuse? E-Muse?)

As I sit here scribbling on my stationery,

Cheating by using a rhyming dictionary,

I see this month's contest on Muse,

And realize I can express my love for emus!

When I think about emus I get very happy,

If this poem goes on, it will get very sappy.

Thinking about Muse makes me go loco,

My favorite Muse is definitely Koko.

As I sit here writing about emus,

I read a confidence article in Muse.

My assurance goes up so I reach on a shelf,

Only to pull a bowling ball on myself.

My mother looks at me with a frown,

And suddenly my assurance goes down.

Too bad it is time for school,

Just one more thing, HOT-PINK BUNNIES RULE!!!

Marc W., age 11 ½

New Jersey

The Platypus of Happiness

Once, when beasts roamed the earth

And dinosaurs lay by the hearth,

There lived a beast,

An utterly inexplicable

Mammal,

A creature furry and warm

Who lays eggs

In a tunnel.

Researchers and scientists,

Biologists and zoologists,

Linnaeus and Darwin,

All tried to classify him

And analyze him

All to no avail.

But because they could not classify him

Or analyze him,

Recause he was so special,

They became very happy indeed.

They forgot their work and their files,

And just spent their time hugging and patting him.

They even acknowledged his smiles as smiles,

And not an idiosyncratic mouth movement

Formed by the movement of millions of tiny muscles

In response to an electrical stimulus sent by the brain.

(continued on our Web site, www.cricketmag.com)

Matthew L., age 11

Singapore

muse contest

UPSIDE-DOWNS

Think that upside-down stuff is easy? (Probably not. But pretend you're one of those conceited people with high self-esteem who would.) For this month's contest we'd like you to make an upside-down drawing like Verbeek's. We're not mean enough to insist you write a whole comic strip that works both right side up and upside down. All we want is a face. And we'll give you a big hint. It helps if one of the two faces is bald and the other has a beard. You'll get points if the upside-down face looks as much like a face as the right-side-up face. And you'll win if we can't guess how the upside-down face works until we turn the page upside down. Your faces don't have to have to be saying anything, but they can have nasty remarks about one another's appearance if you'd like. We'll print the winners in the January 2006 issue of Muse.

Contest Rules

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

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

3. Only one entry per person, please.

4. If you want your work returned, enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

5. All entries must be signed by a parent or legal guardian, saying it's your own work and that no help was given. For detailed information about our compliance with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, visit the Policy page at www.cricketmag.com.

6. Your entry must be received by August 31, 2005. We will publish the winning entries in the January 2006 issue of Muse.

7. Send entries to Muse Contest, 140 S. Dearborn Street, Suite 1450, Chicago, IL 60603. No faxes, please, but entries may be e-mailed to muse@caruspub.com.