Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2017 i Spider Magazine Stories, Games, Activites and Puzzles for Children and Kids

DEAR ALL PARENTS and Siblings, This is what you could call a bad baby. Like a bad egg or a bad joke or a bad hairdo. I won’t tell you if it’s a boy or a girl. It’s hard to tell when it’s not wearing blue or pink. I also won’t tell you what its name is, in case that is your name, too. All you need to know is that this baby went real bad, real quick. Bad like soggy cereal. Bad like two-week-old meatloaf. So bad, this baby could melt your socks off. I’m totally serious! You don’t believe me? I’ll show you. EXHIBIT A: The baby’s bottom. Go on, smell it! Don’t be shy. It smells like powder, you say? You need to have your nose checked.…

Hi, Everybuggy! In my opinion, another year of Spider equals another year of fun! My favorite story was “Mae and the Dragon” (January 2015). My favorite magazine . . . h’mm . . . I can’t choose! I have three cats. Can you adopt Pendaltan? He never eats bugs. All he eats is cat food. If he does anything bad (which he probably will), just yell “Pendaltan J. Copperbottom!” He’s pretty naughty. Alexis Goodell, age 6 Holland, Michigan P.S. Thistle is really funny. Spider, too. Dear Thistle, I made two bunnies for you to adopt. Their names are Kisses and Zoomy. They remind me of the babies my bunny and my brother’s bunny had. Barbara Keeney, age 8 Lincoln, New Hampshire Dear Spider, I love your magazines and I…

ONCE UPON A time, a little pine tree lived at the edge of a thick forest. Its long green needles glistened in the sunlight. The summer wind whistled through its branches. But the tree was unhappy. “My needles are thin and sharp,” it complained. “I wish I had leaves like the maple tree that turns gold in autumn. If I had leaves of pure gold, then I would be happy.” The forest fairy heard him and asked, “Little tree, why would leaves of pure gold make you happy?” The tree answered, “Because then I would be the most beautiful tree in the forest.” “Very well,” the fairy said. “But I can only grant you three wishes.” The next morning, the leaves on the tree glistened with pure gold. “I’m so…

T HE FIRST SATURDAY after the Tuttle family moved, it rained all morning. T.J. Tuttle sighed and flopped on his bed. They had moved from New York City to the backwoods of Northern Florida, and it was very different there. He stared up at the plain white ceiling and said, “I wish we’d never come here. I don’t know anybody, and there’s nothing to do.” He rolled onto his side and looked out the window. His jaw dropped wide open like a big mouth bass. Catfish were walking through the grass! They seemed to be pulling themselves with their pointed front fins. T.J. watched them stretch their heads forward, dragging and wagging their tails behind. “Fish can’t walk!” he said. He grabbed his rain slicker and bolted outside. Out front,…

THE SUN RISES above the Arctic Ocean, spreading a fiery glow over the pale ice. Across the frozen sea, a white bear lumbers. The bear pauses and sways his head from side to side. There is nothing to see but endless ice and blushing sky. He sniffs. His powerful nose senses what his eyes cannot: a beluga whale is nearby. The bear follows the scent and spots a large hole in the ice where a small white whale is swimming. He silently creeps toward the hole, then stops, standing motionless. The whale does not see the bear, whose white fur makes him appear invisible against the ice. Finally, the whale swims close to where the bear is waiting. With terrifying speed, the bear comes to life and lunges. In a…

Contest Rules Write a poem about winter. Here are the only rules: 1. Your entry must be signed by a parent or legal guardian, authorizing its publication in print and/or online and saying it’s your own idea. 2. Be sure to include your complete name, age, and address. 3. Your entry must arrive by January 25, 2017. We will publish our favorites in the April 2017 issue of Spider. Email your entry to spider@cricketmedia.com, or send it to Spider’s Corner, P.O. Box 300, Peru, IL 61354.…

WHAT YOU’LL NEED: 2 ping-pong balls 2 pinecones hot glue gun 2–4 craft sticks 2 pipe cleaners 2–4 toothpicks WHAT TO DO: 1. Draw a human face on one ping-pong ball and a terrible troll face on the other. Color and decorate craft sticks on both sides. 2. Gently remove the stem from the wide end of each pinecone. 3. With hot glue or wood glue, have an adult help you attach a ping-pong ball to the wide end of each pinecone. 4. Glue the narrow end of each pinecone to your craft stick(s). One wide stick will make a snowboarder, and two skinny ones will make a skier. 5. To make hands or troll claws, wrap a pipe cleaner around each pinecone and twist small loops at each end.…

Santhana S., age 7 Williamsville, New York Benjamin B., age 7 Alexandria, Virginia Emily Pearson, age 9 Gulfport, Mississippi Jaiden Lee, age 8 Birmingham, Alabama Hazel Fleming, age 10 Bradford, Vermont Micah A., age 6 Topeka, Kansas Emily Ryan, age 9 Rutland, Massachusetts Carmen M., age 6 Edwardsville, Illinois Amaia Selicaro Hayes, age 8 Rhinebeck, New York Pea-Car-Duck Patrick K., age 7 Fremont, California Sania Hill, age 8 Birmingham, Alabama Kitty Underwood, age 6 Sante Fe, New Mexico Roadrunner with Cactus and Crow George Beavers, age 9 Greenwich, Connecticut Durbin Dorsch, age 6 Miami, Florida…

DO YOU LOVE cinnamon? Miro does! Do you love pumpkin? Miro does! Do you love hummus? Miro does! He mushed all three together and discovered this recipe. What You’ll Need: 1 cup chickpeas 1 tablespoon tahini 1 clove garlic (optional) 1 cup pumpkin purée 2 tablespoons lemon juice ½ teaspoons salt ¼ cup olive oil 1 teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon blender or food processor What to Do: 1. Ask an adult to help combine chickpeas, pumpkin, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, garlic, cumin, salt, and cinnamon in a blender or food processor. 2. Blend until smooth. If it’s too dry, add water or more olive oil. 3. Serve with pita bread or pita chips. Try sprinkling some cinnamon on the pita!…