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

“WHAT ABOUT BRINGING kids down to the basement, Dandelion?” Doodlebug Pinkley asked his sister. They sat at the kitchen table trying to think up a way to scare their friends for Halloween. “Seriously?” Dandelion glanced at the basement door as if something super-spooky might burst out of there. She shuddered a little. “Seriously!” Doodlebug repeated. “Let’s call it . . . Basement of Horrors!” “I’m not sure—” Dandelion spun her new mood ring around her finger. “I mean, who knows what’s hiding in that cave-maze of darkness!” The ring’s big stone turned orange, which meant its wearer was nervous. Dandelion was glad to see a new color, even if she was nervous. The stone’s color changed every time her feelings changed, and this was the third time today. She hoped…

They’ve just discovered Saturn’s rings are made from ordinary things that vanished or that got misplaced and floated out to Outer Space.  Not just little bits of rocks. The rings are made of missing socks,lunch money, remote controls,contact lenses, doughnut holes,grown-ups’ long-lost baby teeth,last December’s Christmas wreath,Daddy’s keys and Grandma’s hair,my last clean piece of underwear, And so I’d have to say that, yup,that’s where my homework ended up.…

BARFING JACK GOT seasick during the pumpkin boat races. Luckily, his barf is made of a delicious dip you can eat with tortilla chips. What You’ll Need: 1 small pumpkin pumpkin carver or sharp knife* metal spoon cookie sheet 6 avocados 2 limes 2 Roma tomatoes ½ onion ½ cup fresh cilantro 1 tsp garlic powder ½ tsp salt tortilla chips * knife is for adult use only What to Do: 1. With an adult, slice off the top of the pumpkin. 2. Scoop out the guts and carve the pumpkin’s expression—surprised, angry, or sick to its stomach. 3. Place the pumpkin on the cookie sheet and refrigerate. 4. Wash and chop the tomatoes, onion, and cilantro. 5. Remove the skin and pit of the avocado. Mash the green…

BLAST OFF WITH these pumpkin rockets, and race your friends across the living room. What You’ll Need: 2 orange balloons black marker 2 pieces of string or fishing line at least 10 feet long 2 plastic drinking straws masking tape scissors What to Do: 1. Blow up a balloon and hold it closed. 2. Have a friend draw a jack-o’-lantern face on the balloon, and then let the air out after you decorate it. 3. Tie one end of each string to a chair or doorknob. Thread the string through a plastic straw. 4. Tie the other end of the string to a second stationary object. 5. Blow up your balloon and hold it closed again while you tape it to the straw. 6. Move the air-filled balloon to one…

WHAT’S EVEN MORE fun than reading a story? Telling one! This story fortune has three of the pieces your story will need. The outside of the fortune has characters—who the story will be about. The middle has settings—where or when your story will take place. And the inside offers choices for your story’s plot—problems for your character to solve. Use the story fortune to help you write or tell stories of your own—and even write a story for this month’s “Spider’s Corner”! (See page 33.) What You'll Need: scissors table or other flat surface What to Do: 1. Cut out the square along the solid line. With the red dot facing up, fold each corner point in to touch the red dot. Crease the fold (figure 1). Turn the folded…

MY LIPS PEELED back over my teeth as I stretched my mouth open wider and wider. But I couldn’t bite down. The apple escaped, plunging back into the barrel. Instead of delicious fruit, my reward was a face full of water. Blinking, I swiped my black sleeve over my nose. “Too bad,” said the superhero next in line. Folding back his cape, he stepped forward. “My turn.” “You could use your mop to clean up.” The cat with penciled-on whiskers giggled, pointing to the tiny pond at my feet. She waved her finger like a wand. “Or say ‘Abracadabra! Puddle, be gone’!” “You want to win Most Original Costume, right?” asked a girl wearing green balloons from head to toe. “So you’re a witch with a mop instead of a…

People in the Caribbean developed a way of speaking English with a distinctive accent, rhythm, and grammar, a little like the way Granny speaks in this story. Many Caribbean words were adapted from languages other than English. For example, one West African word for ghost is dupe. The word became duppy (DUH-pee) in the Caribbean. When ghost stories were told, especially in Jamaica, these ghosts were called duppies. T UKAMA LIVED ON an island in the Caribbean Sea. In the morning, he helped his granny around the house. In the afternoon, he went out to play. He didn’t go far because of the tricky creatures Granny always talked about—hungry giants, devilish demons, and mischief-making duppies. “You stay close by the house,” Granny reminded Tukama. “And keep out of mischief!” Tukama…

EVERYBUGGY HERE IS dressed up for Halloween, but we all had the same costume idea! Join our party by making this mushroom hat. What You’ll Need: construction hat or wide brim hat plain white garbage bag plastic grocery bags clear packaging tape fabric scissors XL plain white t-shirt black marker hot glue gun colored t-shirt small plate or bowl What to Do: 1. Fill the white garbage bag with plastic grocery bags to make the mushroom cap. Add more bags to make it bigger and rounder. 2. Tape the edges of the garbage bag to the inside of the hat and squeeze to let out extra air. Tape the top of the mushroom in an X pattern so it holds its shape. 3. Lay the white t-shirt flat and cut…