Innholdsfortegnelse for May/June 2015 i Spider Magazine Stories, Games, Activites and Puzzles for Children and Kids

Dear Spider, I love your magazines! I know you’re a daredevil and I’m close to being one. Ophelia, last summer I saw you in my garden with an egg sack. Would you please adopt this butterfly? Her name is Lucy, and she only eats nectar. She said she knows Sam. She loves art. Emma Orban, age 7 Hamilton, Michigan Dear Spider, Thank you for your wonderful postcard! If you have not read the Harry Potter books I would recommend you read them! President Obama has read all seven! I have a joke for you: What do you call a cat that eats a lot of lemons? A sour puss! Did you know that people snore because of loose skin in the back of their throats? And there is a type…

MARGARITA SAT ON the porch rocker. Next to her lay a basket filled with cloth and trims. She was finishing the costume she would wear on Saturday for the Festival de Las Flores. She had been selected to be one of the cargadoras, dancers who carry palm branches covered with colorful flowers. The festival was always a special day, but this year it was even more so because the president of the United States, who was visiting her country, would be attending. Margarita knew she should be excited about the festival, but deep down she was sad. Her mamá had been so pleased when Margarita had been chosen as one of the dancers. As a girl, Mamá had also danced with a palm at the festival, and she had taught…

IN THE COUNTRY of Kenya, people were once ruled by a powerful but bad-tempered sultan. He stomped through the palace yelling orders and kicking walls. Servants and advisors hurried from room to room to escape his temper. But because of the sultan’s great power, no one dared to say a single word about his behavior. Although the sultan was cruel, he held a special place in his heart for one thing: the royal garden. He loved the smell of grass and flowers, and the majestic roses always made him smile. But as the days passed, his fierce tantrums shook the garden dirt, and the plants began to turn from green to brown. The precious rose vines shriveled in the Kenyan sun, and the sultan grew angrier than anyone had ever…

“DAD, WHAT ARE you doing?!” Doodlebug Pinkley said, his eyes bulging. His father was standing on the little desk in his art studio, stomping around to some strange music. In one hand he was waving a stick with sparkly, spangly streamers. With the other hand he tossed a baton in the air. Startled, Mr. Pinkley missed the baton as it fell, and it went flying across the room. Choo-choo, the Pinkleys’ little Abyssinian cat, dove for cover. “Oh!” Mr. Pinkley blurted. “You aren’t supposed to see this, Doodlebug dearest! I’m still practicing.” “For what?” Doodlebug felt a flicker of dread. “Never you mind,” his father replied. “Now shooo!” Doodlebug frowned, closed the studio door, and rushed to find his sister, Dandelion. He streaked down the long, dim third-floor hall and…

FATHERS COME IN all shapes and sizes. In the animal kingdom, fathers have some fascinating (and strange!) ways of helping their young. Some animal dads protect their babies. Some provide food. Some teach survival skills. Whatever their talents, the following fathers are fabulous! Suck Them Up and Spit Them Out Most fish do not live in family groups, but in the Red Devil Cichlid families of Central America, fathers help take care of their young. If a little one swims too far away, it’s his dad’s job to put him back into place. He gently grasps the wandering fish in his mouth and—aaapooey! He spits the young wanderer back with his brothers and sisters. Excuse Me, I’ve Got a Frog in my Throat If you were a Darwin’s frog father…

This Month for Spider’s Corner: Draw us a picture of a fabulous father. Here are the only rules: 1. Your drawing should be on one page. 2. 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. 3. Be sure to include your complete name, age, and address. 4. Send your drawing by May 25, 2015, so we can publish our favorites in the October 2015 Spider and on our website at spidermagkids.com/corner . Upload your drawing to spidermagkids.com/corner/submit or send to Spider’s Corner, P.O.Box 300, Peru, IL 61354. Magic Paintbrush Sidney A., age 8 Bay Area, California Liv W., age 7 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Butterfly Ethan M., age 6 Wichita, Kansas Rollercoaster in the Rain Alden…

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Scrambles velo ______ hgu______ efolrw_____ Pickle Fab Facts • Americans consume more than 2.5 billion pounds of pickles each year. That’s 20 billion pickles! • Since it takes almost 4 billion pickles stacked end to end to reach the moon, all the pickles we eat in a single year would stretch to the moon and back twice! Why do cucumbers giggle? They’re PICKLish! Scream at Spider What’s your favorite way to eat a pickle? Vote at spidermagkids.com/scream!…