Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2019 i Spider Magazine Stories, Games, Activites and Puzzles for Children and Kids

“THIS IS GOING to be the best winter vacation ever!” Dandelion Pinkley said as she climbed into the old jalopy, her brother Doodlebug right behind her. “We can swim every day!” “Yeah, and eat weird prickly fruits from palm trees!” Doodlebug added. “Nonstop chill time,” promised their good friend Boggington Bogsworth the Third. Bog turned to his Uncle Bongo Bogsworth the Fifth, who was driving. “Right, Uncle B?” Uncle Bongo had invited them down to spend the week in a whole new country—without their parents! “Fun times ahead, mis amigos!” he said, his eyes twinkling. “And I think you’re going to like the little villa we’ve rented right near the seashore.” They drove along past palm trees and skittering lizards, Dandelion enjoying the salty sea breeze. But something was missing.…

MARY STEPPED OUT of her carriage in front of Spellzany Castle, admiring as usual its towers topped in huge, colorful marble crowns, wizards’ hats, and jesters’ caps. Her aunt, Queen Ursula, robed in ink-bottle patterned blue silk, ran out and hugged her. “Auntie, thanks for inviting me!” “Thank you for traveling across the kingdom to be here! You love poetry, so I knew you’d want to see me present my Royal Rhyming Poem Contest prize.” “You aren’t nervous about . . .?” “Not a bit,” said the queen brightly as they strolled through the castle’s carved doors. “I’m sure the party will go smoothly.” Mary didn’t feel so certain. Spellzany Castle’s name sprang from its history of attracting zany magic spells. If a frost fairy’s too-strong charm covered a throne…

Contest Rules Write a story or poem about the stars. 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, 2019. We will publish our favorites in the April 2019 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: scissors a sharpened pencil What to Do: 1. Cut out the dragon along the solid black lines. 2. Placing the dragon facedown, fold it in half along the dotted white line (figure 1), and then unfold. 3. Fold the wings in along the dotted black lines (figure 2). 4. Unfold the wings and turn the dragon over. Fold the tail along the dotted black line so that it tilts up (figure 3). 5. Gently place the tip of the dragon’s nose on your pencil point, let go, and watch it hang in the air!…

ONCE THERE WAS a child with your name. Though it wasn’t you. The child had hair about your length and your color eyes. But this is probably a coincidence! Because this child was about to go on an adventure. You don’t like to go on adventures, do you? Oh, you do? Perhaps it was you. The child with your name put on your puffy coat, grabbed the ancient map from your bookshelf, and headed outside. Wait. You don’t have an ancient map on your bookshelf? Maybe you should look more closely next time (on the bottom shelf in the far back). A red line appeared on the map. The line began at your house, twisted through the enchanted woods, and ended at a star. Below the star were the words…

Dear Sam, I love how you act. I really want you to adopt my dragon, Storm. He is powerful and strong. Just make sure you fly him. He eats anything that eats caterpillars! He sleeps in lightning. He can use magic to protect you, too! My favorite color is green. Jude Glover, age 7 McMurray, Pennsylvania Dear Everybuggy, I love your magazine. My favorite part is the comics on the inside of the front cover and the bottoms of the pages. Will you please adopt my dritten, Ophelia? Her name is Midnight. To feed her you just need to let her out, and she’ll catch all the mice (kitten part) but eat them (dragon part), so you won’t get an allergic reaction. Thistle, you can ride Midnight when she’s not…

O N A WARM June evening in 1609, Galileo Galilei, a 45-year-old Italian mathematics teacher and father of three, listened as a friend described the latest invention to hit Europe: a long tube containing two glass lenses, called a spyglass. “It makes faraway things appear close! We could use one of those here  in Italy,” the friend said. “Perhaps you could try to build one, if you’re interested.” Was he ever! Galileo loved trying to figure out how the world and the things in it worked. That very night he leaped into the project with gusto. In a short time, he not only figured out how to construct a spyglass, he improved upon the existing model as well. When he later presented his device to the rulers of Venice, they…

LONG AGO ON a mountaintop in a distant corner of the world lived a dragon named Shinpai (sheen-PIE). From his high perch, Shinpai could see across the sea in one direction and down to the valley in another. Whenever danger was near, he shouted a warning to the people below. “A wave is about to flood the village!” he would call out. “Quickly, up the mountain!” Or, “Invading warriors are marching this way! Prepare to defend yourselves!” The people of the village trusted Shinpai. They did as he commanded, rushing to higher ground or readying their weapons. Centuries passed. The village was safe. Then one day the earth began to shake. It knocked down many homes and swallowed others whole. The people blamed Shinpai for not protecting them, although there…

What You' ll Need: paper cup balloon scissors spoon markers or stickers (optional) confetti, pompoms, sequins, or paper scraps What to Do: 1. With an adult’s help, cut out the bottom of the paper cup. If you want to, decorate the paper cup with markers or stickers. 2. Tie a knot in the bottom of the balloon. Then cut about half an inch off the top of the balloon. 3. Stretch the balloon over the bottom of the paper cup so it’s snug. 4. Fill the paper cup with a few spoonfuls of confetti, pompoms, or sequins. You can make your own confetti by cutting colorful paper scraps into small pieces. 5. Point the party popper away from you and pull on the knot of the balloon. Let go and—POP!—send…