Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2025 i Spider Magazine Stories, Games, Activites and Puzzles for Children and Kids

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…

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. The bear’s 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…

SIR HERBERT SPOON lived in a very tall house with his butler, Cecil Spout. The house had several sets of stairs for going up and a pole for sliding down, which worked well, except when Sir Herbert snagged his pajamas on the coat hook in the second-floor bedroom and dangled like a plum. “Help, Cecil! Help!” he’d cry. “Sir Herbert,” Cecil would grumble as he unhitched Sir Herbert and watched him whiz down the pole. “This won’t do!” The house was tall because Sir Herbert studied stars and liked to be close to the sky. Every night he climbed to the observatory on the topmost floor where he focused his telescope, stared, and scribbled notes. Cecil followed, stepping over crumpled papers and running his fingers along dusty windowsills. Sir Herbert…

ONCE UPON A time when Earth was young, Winter ruled. Snow and ice covered mountains and rivers, fields and forests. So hard was the floor between Earth and Sky that Sun could not peek through to warm the ground. Animals that survived this harsh cold hunted to provide what little food they could for their young. A big bear, called Fisher because the magic in his tail helped him catch fish, decided it was time to bring Summer to Earth. So Fisher invited all of Earth’s creatures to a meeting. “We will find a way to warm Earth,” the bear said. “Sun will bring grass and flowers and birds. We must reach the Great Spirit and ask for help. Who will go with me to the place where Earth is…

Dear Miro, What is your favorite food? Will you adopt Orca? He is a dog that eats pancakes for breakfast and pizza for dinner. What is your favorite color? I like all of them. Amias T. V. Sebastopol, California Dear Amias, Merci for Orca. I like zee crêpes, and I hope Orca weel like mon crêpes, too. My favorite color is rouge—red. Amour, Miro Dear Bill, You’re my favorite buggy! This snake is Corniy. He is a corn snake. He eats yellow food. Can you adopt him? Can you be my pen pal? Hank, age 7 Los Angeles, California Dear Hank, Corniy is cool. Keep your letters coming, but let’s save some trees by using email (spider@cricketmedia.com). Your pen pal, Bill Dear Spider and the Gang, You make the funniest…

WITH THIS NIFTY constellation cone, you can project stars from the sky onto your ceiling. What You’ll Need: scissorspencilpaper clipflashlightcorrugated cardboard What to Do: 1. Cut out the big circle. Then cut along the black line from the edge of the circle to the center. 2. Lay the circle on a piece of corrugated cardboard. Use the pencil to poke holes through the dots on the circle. 3. Form a cone by covering the red section with the blue section (see picture). Paper clip the cone together. 4. Stand in the middle of a dark room, and hold the constellation cone with the pointed end up. Hold the flashlight about six inches below the cone, and aim the beam at the cone’s center. Look up. You will see the Big…

Sir Herbert’s story is based on an incident that actually happened to an Englishman, Sir Paul Neale, in the 1600s. People at the time were intrigued by the possibility of life on the moon. They dreamed of visiting the moon in “flying chariots” or even living there. Caught up in this excitement, Sir Paul hoped to find proof of lunar life. When he looked through his telescope one night and something unexpected popped into view, he was sure it was an animal. So often we see what we want to see, but this doesn’t necessarily make it true.…

Contest Rules Write a story about a bear on a mission. Here are the only rules: 1. Your story should be 150 words or fewer. 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. Your entry must arrive by January 25, 2025. We will publish our favorites in the April 2025 issue of Spider. Email your entry to spider@cricketmedia.com.…

What You , ll Need: What to Do: 1. Fold in half the long way, crease down the middle, and reopen. 2. Fold down the two corners on one short side. 3. Fold the point over. 4. Fold in each corner starting about an inch from the center crease. 5. Fold up a little triangle point to cover the corner points. 6. Flip over, and fold it in half with the little triangle on the outside. 7. Fold down the sides to make wings. 8. Cut out the crew in one piece. Fold them over at the center. Insert and attach with a small bit of tape. 9. Launch into space! And do what you like with Bill.…

HAVE YOU EVER gone stargazing? When we draw imaginary lines between stars to make a picture, that star group is called a constellation. Many ancient cultures found constellations and came up with stories to explain them. There are drawings of constellations from thousands of years ago! Some people of the past used constellations to mark the seasons. Different constellations can be seen at different times of the year, so farmers looked to the sky to know when to plant their crops. Others used constellations to navigate. Polaris, or the North Star, is one of the most helpful stars because it is above the North Pole. By finding Polaris, travelers know which way is north. First, they find the Big Dipper inside Big Bear. It points toward Polaris, in the Little…