Spider Magazine Stories, Games, Activites and Puzzles for Children and Kids April 2017

“THIS PLACE RULES!” Doodlebug Pinkley blurted as he sat down in the conference room at World of the Weird, his favorite magazine. “And everyone here should know I’m your very next Cover Kid!” Beside him, his cousin Punky made a fake puking noise. But Doodlebug was sure. All you had to do to win was send in the weirdest video of the year. He and Punky were the two contest finalists, and Doodlebug knew he could beat Punky’s boring cowboy movie. The magazine’s editor, Earl Daniel Curl, gave Doodlebug a long, toothy smile. Earl had been top dog at World of the Weird practically since its first issue. And he would pick the winner of the Cover Kid contest. “Well, let’s not be hasty,” editor Earl said, smoothing the big…

M’SU COCODRIE, THE ALLIGATOR, was once king of all the swamps and the bayous. All the critters cut a wide circle ’round ol’ Cocodrie lest they wind up in his belly. Even Man with his traps and guns was wary of M’su Cocodrie. One snap of those jaws and a fella could lose an arm, a leg, or even his life. M’su Cocodrie enjoyed the respect and fear of everybody—everybody, that is, except for those old, sassy dogs. How those dogs loved to tease and mock him—from a safe distance, of course! Back in those days, M’su Cocodrie lived in a deep, dark, muddy hole in the bank of the bayou, not far from the cabane home of Man and his pesky dogs. In the evening he loved to curl…

What You’ll Need: 1½ cups yellow cornmeal ½ cup white flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon baking soda 3 tablespoons sugar (optional) 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk ½ stick butter 1 tablespoon corn oil 1 8- by 8-inch baking pan What to Do: 1. In one bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. 2. Melt butter. In another bowl, mix the eggs, melted butter, and buttermilk. 3. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until smooth. 4. Have an adult help you heat oven to 400°F. Coat baking pan with corn oil. Pour mixture into pan. 5. Bake for around 25 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when you can stick a knife into the center and it comes out clean. Tip: For true…

(Setting: a sturdy pirate ship with a barrel on the deck. Enter Parrot.) PARROT: WELCOME, OH WELCOME, ye land-lubbers all, To our fabulous pirate ship, The Terrible! I’m Parrot, your tour guide and expert narrator—if you like the show, I’m accepting tips later. (Enter the crew, including the Cook and Captain Brash. The cook is stirring a bowl. The others go to work swabbing the deck, steering the ship, and other things.) PARROT: Now, this crew, they seem surly and burly and rough. But they’re really nice, too! I promise—no bluff. Yes, ol’ Captain Brash cares for each of his crew. And not long ago, he hired somebody new. (Enter Fern, carrying a big book in one hand, and a mop in the other.) PARROT: Friends, meet Fern! She’s the…

What You’ll Need: paper plate scissors tape or glue rubber band markers, paint, feathers, googly eyes, and other decorations (optional) What to Do: 1. .Cut paper plate in half with scissors (figure a). 2. Fold each part in half (figure b). Fold in half again (figure c). Then unfold (figure d). 3. Fold each half of the plate into a pyramid shape along the dotted lines (figure d). Tuck one folded section under another (figure e). Tape the overlapping sections together (figure f). 4. Tape both plate halves together at their openings to form the top and bottom beak. Attach a rubber band to create a strap for your hand (figure g). 5. Decorate your parrot. Glue on googly eyes, paint it, or attach feathers. Go wild! 6. Put your…

“GO, ROE, GO! Splish-splash-groove.” Monroe’s pelican pals cheered him on from down below, flipping and flapping their wings against the murky bayou water. Monroe, or “Roe” for short, shivered with fear as he inched toward the edge of a mossy tree branch, taking deep breaths through his enormous beak. I can’t swim, he thought. He’d been reminded time and time again that the special air sacs in his body would keep him afloat. Still . . . he didn’t want to risk it. Monroe could do lots of things. He could hold more fish in his pouch than he knew what to do with. He could fly higher than any bird in the sky. He could spot a tasty fish from a mile away. But he was the only brown…