September is here, and a hint of crisp fall breeze is in the air. It’s a season of change and new possibilities, and we’re excited to share some of the new features and updates in our September/October magazine issues!
If you subscribe to one of our magazines, you may have seen something like this in the back of your most recent issue:
That’s right, our beloved bug magazines are expanding to incorporate more STEM and nonfiction content, more hands-on activities, and more delightful characters! What will that actually look like in practice? Well, let’s take a sneak peek into the pages of our September/October magazine issues and get a good look!
LADYBUG Magazine
This issue of LADYBUG is already special because it marks the magazine’s 35th birthday! Since LADYBUG was first published in 1990, it’s provided a beautiful introduction to literature and art for young children. Now it’s incorporating more science and nature content, too! This issue celebrates both birthdays of all kinds and the changing of the seasons. You don’t even have to open the new issue of LADYBUG to see the difference. LADYBUG has grown in length from 36 pages (plus take-out pages!) to 48 (plus take-out pages!)
Still, most of this month’s magazine will seem familiar to young readers. Beloved mascots Ladybug, Muddle, and Thud are front and center on the cover of the issue, and recurring characters like Max and Kate still grace the pages. Kids can still enjoy favorite features like I Spy and Muddle’s Trunkful of Fun, and the pages are packed with sweet stories and poetry. One of our favorites is “Four Chairs” by Carole Mohr, in which Chippy Chipmunk throws a birthday party but finds he doesn’t have enough chairs!
But you’ll also meet new friends from CLICK Magazine, including friendly mouse Click in his resident comic strip, “Click and the Kids,” wildlife photographer Beatrice Black Bear, and a curious young boy named Yo in the recurring “Yo Wants to Know” series. In this issue, kids will learn the answers to all of their burning questions about fall! Why does the weather turn cooler in the fall? Why do leaves change colors and fall off the trees? How do different animals get ready for the change in season? And how do you tell different types of trees apart?
Plus, don’t miss fun hands-on activities, like making a friendly owl companion using autumn leaves!
SPIDER Magazine
No, you’re not imagining it. SPIDER Magazine just got bigger, too, growing from 36 pages (plus take-out pages!) to a hearty 48 (plus take-out pages!) This is one “sweet” issue of SPIDER, with stories and poems about topics like making a cherished family recipe, facing a giant cupcake, choosing the perfect ice cream flavor, or moving to a new country and finding that nobody eats peanut butter there!
Just like past issues, you’ll experience tons of fun with Spider and the Gang. There are plenty of fun submissions from readers in Spider’s Mailbox and Spider’s Corner and, as always, awesome crafts and recipes from Ophelia and Miro. In this issue’s “Ophelia’s Last Word,” make your own fruity scratch-and-sniff sneakers!
Starting with the September/October issue, though, SPIDER readers can also enjoy STEM-centered content from our friends at the former ASK Magazine. They explore the scientific side of sugar, explaining exactly what sugar is and why we crave it, what happens when our bodies are unable to process sugar, the history of sweets around the world, and even more.
ASK’s resident Marvin the raccoon and friends are also here to join Spider and company for plenty of educational antics. Discover exciting recurring features like Nestor’s Dock, a comic strip about a group of curious kids, and “Nosy News,” which showcases fascinating science news articles in a kid-friendly format. Celebrate the joyful combination of two great magazines with this issue’s take-out pages, where you can play a game of “Splat Spider” featuring SPIDER Magazine characters both old and new!
CRICKET Magazine
The newly expanded CRICKET Magazine is full of more ways to learn, imagine, and explore than ever before! Incorporating content from MUSE, COBBLESTONE, and FACES Magazine, CRICKET now includes insightful articles on cutting-edge discoveries in science and technology and in-depth looks into history and world cultures. CRICKET is now an impressive 58 pages long and populated by an even bigger cast of loveable characters.
This issue of CRICKET exemplifies the saying, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” It’s also the first step into an exciting new future for CRICKET. It’s packed with stories and articles about hiking, exploring, migrations, marching, dancing, and footwear of all kinds! Just in time for Halloween, you’ll find a spooky Irish folktale and a scrambled skeleton puzzle, too.
Meet interesting new people, from kids who sell socks to protect threatened birds to a costume historian to nomadic people who have wandered the Sahara for centuries. In Diane L. Burns’ exciting story, “The Old Smokechaser Rescue,” a young boy has to help his injured grandpa find his way to safety during a thunderstorm! Will he be able to use the skills that his grandfather taught him?
All of your favorite CRICKET features are still here. The citizens of Cricket country are still making lovable mischief, kids’ brilliant creations are still published in Cricket League and Letterbox, and Ugly Bird’s Crossbird Puzzle is going strong. We’ve added some fun new departments from MUSE, though! Now you can follow the multidimensional adventures of Parallel U, guess the fake news story in “News or Not,” and enjoy the “Last Slice” and “Bonus Track” to finish off a fun-filled issue!
The Learning Continues!
That’s not all that excites us about these newly expanded magazines. We’ve also included new ways to continue learning off the page with curated content from Sensical and our new Reading Stars app!
For example, the newest issue of CRICKET features an article about a pioneering naturalist named E.O. Wilson. He was particularly fascinated by ants and made some groundbreaking discoveries about ant behavior. For kids interested in learning more about ants, we’ve included a QR code linking to a cool video called “Ants in Madagascar” from the Cal Academy on Sensical. All of our video recommendations are age-appropriate, high-quality content that parents can feel good about.
“Plum Dumplings” in the latest issue of SPIDER includes a link to the Reading Stars app, allowing kids to engage more deeply with the story. On Reading Stars, kids can enjoy a read-along of “Plum Dumplings,” games, quizzes, and more!
We’ve also launched all-new Companion Guides for our magazines, taking interactive learning to new heights! What does a Companion Guide look like? Let’s dive right into LADYBUG’s guide for the September/October issue! For the article “When It’s Fall” by A.T. Zhao, you’ll find some discussion questions that parents and kids can use to spark critical thinking. Then, kids can explore their own neighborhoods for signs of fall and create their own art showing how the seasons change. For the story “Autumn Treasures,” kids can create their own leaf rubbings like the main character, Grace. The “Word Time with Ladybug” section gives kids a chance to practice reading and writing key words from the issue like “leaf” and “chair.” All this and so much more is available along with every issue!
Any Questions?
Do you still have questions about the new changes to our children’s magazines? Are you curious how your own subscription may be affected? We have plenty of information and a detailed Q&A available here on our Subscriber Updates page! Just scroll down to our 6/13/25 update to read more about the newly expanded editions. As always, we love to hear from you, so please reach out with any questions or feedback at support@cricketmedia.com.
We can’t wait to embark on this exciting new era for our award-winning kids’ magazines! We hope you and your families enjoy our September/October issues as much as we do!
