Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2018 i Spider Magazine Stories, Games, Activites and Puzzles for Children and Kids

“WHAT ARE THEY doing up there?” Doodlebug Pinkley asked his friend Boggington Bogsworth the Third, who lived on the other side of the back fence. “Let me look!” It was an hour before a rare lunar eclipse, and Doodlebug, Bog, and Doolebug’s annoying cousin Punky were in the Lodge—the clubhouse Bog and Doodlebug had set up in Bog’s backyard shed. During the eclipse, Earth’s shadow would slide across the full moon and cover it entirely, making the moon completely dark for a few minutes. But until that happened they had their binoculars focused on something else. “Yeah, hand over those glasses, longhairs!” said Punky. “Cool it, Punkster,” Bog said, shaking his head and handing Doodlebug the binoculars. “They just put up a sign. Check it out.” From the Lodge’s grimy…

Contest Rules  Write a story about something giant or teeny-weeny. 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 March 25, 2018. We will publish our favorites in the Jul/Aug 2018 issue of Spider.. Email your entry to spider@cricketmedia.com, or send it to Spider’s Corner, P.O. Box 300, Peru, IL 61354.…

Haiku (hi-COO) is a form of Japanese poetry that has five syllables, or beats, in the first and last lines and seven syllables in the middle line. Can you guess the answers to these haiku riddles? 1. You’ve heard me, hidden in the tall grass—I sing loud with my legs, not mouth. 2. Black spots on bright red. Some will call it good luck if I land on your head. 3. I wiggle in dirt. Whoops! I think I’m lost. Sorry, one mouth and no eyes.…

I LIKE THINGS to balance, partly because of my name, “Ava.” It’s the same backwards and forwards, balanced on a V in the middle. When something bothers me, I try to balance the bad with the good. That’s why I don’t mind being the tallest kid in third grade. Bad: Have to stand in the back row of my class picture. Good: Can reach the books on the top library shelf. Bad: Can’t wear a fairy costume from the Halloween store. Good: Mom makes a better one out of a bridesmaid dress. Bad: Everyone always points out how tall I am. Good: Sometimes I want people to notice me. So it balances. One day, a new girl comes to school, and she’s the shortest kid in third grade. “Welcome Ava…

MIRANDA KNOX SLUMPED over her sushi. “Don’t get me wrong. I love helping the Ippies, but—” “It’s I.P.P.I.,” Jonathon Jones said, for what felt like the thousandth time. “As in, InterPlanetary Private Investigators. And the I.P.P.I.s need you, Miranda. Please stay.” Chloe Mim and Tommy Lutsinger, two fellow Ippies, nodded. Miranda shrugged. “But I never solve any mysteries. All I do is press buttons.” Chloe squeezed her hand. “No one knows computers like you!” “Group hug!” Tommy shouted. The other two I.P.P.I.s joined in. Miranda laughed. “You guys are giving me less oxygen than Jupiter!” “Say you’ll stay for one more case and we’ll let you breathe,” Tommy teased. “I surrender!” Miranda chuckled. “What’s the next case?” The I.P.P.I.s released the hug, and Jonathon flipped open his notebook. “Gang, we’re…

ONCE LONG AGO there lived a farmer and his wife. The pair worked hard and harder, as bees do, and were good right through. One year, pixies came to live in their barn. People said, “You never know what pixies may do!” So, a bit fearful of pixie magic, the farmer and farmwife were careful not to disturb their mysterious guests. Just after harvest time, the farmer got sick. His wife took him to the doctor in the village, who said the farmer must stay there and rest. So the couple had to leave the wheat on the barn floor. “Our fine crop will rot!” they cried. Two weeks later when the farmer was well, they hurried back to their farm and saw their wheat had been threshed! The grain…