Spider

Spider Magazine is a dream come true for the young gifted reader. The magazine is pitched for children ages six to nine. Strong independent readers may be ready for it earlier. Sample issues run to 33 pages, plus each has an additional pullout paper craft. There is a lot of writing packed into this little mag and the very youngest subscribers might prefer to have Mom, Dad, or big sister share the joy.

Issues of Spider have a fairly predictable pattern. This is a positive for most of the target audience, who are young enough to find comfort in predictability. The publishing information is tucked into a tiny box on the inside front cover. A lovely drawing of Spider's Mailbox takes up the rest of the page, as well as all of the first page. This is the backdrop against which Spider and her little buggy friends cavort in unique poses each month. My daughter could tell you exactly who the bugs are and all about their personalities, but I'm not quite as Spider savy as she. Suffice it to say that she follows the antics of these little characters with glee, as they appear on page bottoms throughout each issue. The bugs are well loved by readers and they all receive fanmail.

The Danderfield Twins is a recurring feature and the first story in each Spider magazine. The twins and their friends are a lively and intelligent bunch, who often must work together to solve a problem. These stories are short and sweet, running about six pages long with large type and plenty of illustrations. Other stories, puzzles, and poems may follow a particular theme. One issue appeared to have two themes, both trains and dogs. A recipe for peanutbutter dog biscuits was a pleasant surprise here.

Illustrations in the magazine are bright and appealing. I heartily appreciate the fact that there is no advertising whatsoever included in Spider. This is very refreshing and a significant demonstration of Carus Publishing's commitment to fair marketing.

Near the back of each issue is a department known as Spider's Corner. Reader artwork and poetry is shared here, with an invitation to submit a drawing or poem on a given idea. One request is for farm animal pictures, another for poems about pets.

Posted for Maddie (age 9)

My favorite part is Spider's Mailbox and the comic strips. I read every issue four times each! There are buggies that make comments and have their own stories on the bottoms of the pages. All the buggies are funny.

If you are thinking about buying this magazine for a child you know, you should know it's mostly reading, stories, and one pull out game page in each issue. I'm sure kids everywhere will love Spider Magazine as much as I do!

Buy Spider Now

My children (7,5,2) and I always get terrific belly laughs when we read the spider cartoons aloud that appear throughout the magazine in each issue. The stories, illustrations and poetry are excellent food for young (and older)minds. But our favorite feature is the cartoons!

Read Best Reviews of Spider Here

My daughter started with the LadyBug series and is now into the Spider and loves the projects, stories and recipies. If her magazine isn't here on time every month the postman gets the glare when he comes *laugh*

Want Spider Discount?

What a DISAPPOINTMENT. I previously ordered "Ask" from the same company and am very pleased and have renewed that subscription. I wanted something else for another child. "Spider" looked like a good choice WRONG. The first issue recently arrived. The first story had characters calling things stupid and dumb. The child I ordered it for asked if those weren't bad words. I tried to make light of it saying that it was calling things not people those words, and hoped that things improved. In the second story one charater completely controls another, having him do mean and dangerous things. At one point character one tells character two to go up to a man walking down the street and tell him "he's ugly as anything and his girlfriend looks like a flea". Character two does as told. We read no further and I cancelled the subscription. When telling the magazine that I was cancelling because it was inappropriate and a disappointment, I was never asked why. That led me to believe that they don't care and that there is no chance of improvement so I am writing here in hopes of helping someone else avoid my experience.

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