™
January 2016 $4.95 from the publisher of
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and
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I Spy
Art by
Jerry Smath Geraldine loves to make castles that look
alike. Or does she? Can you spy the castle
that is different from the others?
Answer on page 35.
art © 2015 by Jerry Smath
e o ut for us!
Keep an ey We are go ing to roll
thro ugh this magazi
ne w ith yo u!
2
Art by Brita Granström
Max and Kate Story by Mick Manning
Ooh!
Max and Mo are shopping with Dadd
d
dy.
3
Grunt!
They walk home, down the sidewalk . . .
4
and through the park.
5
“Oh no! Lots of pieces are missing!” cries Max.
6
One more!
H
Here comes Kate—and look what she h
has
in her pockets!
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My Quiet Time
by Charles Ghigna
Art by Constanze von Kitzing
I pick a book
from my shelf.
I read. I dream
all by myself—
my quiet time
to think about
all the world
from inside out.
art © 2015 by Constanze von Kitzing
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When Dragon Shrank
by Maggie Murphy u Art by Martha Aviles
Dragon and Red Squirrel were good friends.
They visited each other often.
Dragon enjoyed gazing through the windows of
Squirrel’s tree house at rooms far too little for him.
He would say, “Squirrel, how I wish I could relax
in your squooshy armchair.”
Squirrel delighted in
scampering through Dragon’s
cave, exploring rooms far too
big for him. He would say,
“Dragon, how I wish I could
reach the table when I sit in
your carved Viking chair.”
text © 2015 by Maggie Murphy, art © 2015 by Martha Aviles
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One morning, Dragon had an idea. Away he
flapped to the wizard’s cottage. “Sir Wizard, may
I please ask a favor? I long to lounge in Squirrel’s
amazing armchair. Will you shrink me for an hour?”
“Well, just this once,” said the wizard.
Waving his wand, he chanted, “Dragon, Dragon,
change your size. See the world through tiny eyes.”
Green spirals of magic light whirled from his wand.
They wound around Dragon, and spun him three times.
Zoop, he was small, with a high voice. “Thank you,” he
chirped. “Won’t Squirrel be surprised!”
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Meanwhile, Squirrel had an
idea, too. He scurried off to
the enchantress’s castle. “Lady
Enchantress, may I please ask a
favor? I long to reach the table
when I sit in Dragon’s fantastic
Viking chair. Will you make me
big for an hour?”
“Well, just this once,” said
the enchantress.
Waving her wand, she sang,
“Red Squirrel, Red Squirrel,
change your size. See the world
through giant eyes.”
Blue spirals of magic light
swirled from her wand. They
curled around Squirrel, and
twirled him three times. Bloop,
he was big, with a low voice.
“Thank you,” he boomed. “Won’t
Dragon be surprised!”
Grinning, Dragon zipped
toward Squirrel’s tree house.
Laughing, Squirrel clomped
toward Dragon’s cave.
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Their paths crossed.
“Dragon, you’re teeny-tiny!”
“Squirrel, you’re enormous!”
Explaining everything took
time. Suddenly, Dragon said,
“Oops. Our enchantments
end soon.”
“Quick! To the chairs!”
cried Squirrel.
First they rushed to
the tree house.
Sinking into the armchair,
Dragon sighed. “This chair is
soft as pudding,” he whispered,
resting his light feet on a
padded footstool. “I’m the most
relaxed dragon in the world.”
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Off they hurried to the cave.
With his back straight,
Squirrel sat tall in the Viking
chair. “This chair comes from
a Viking hall,” he bellowed,
planting his heavy feet on the
rocky floor. “I’m the boldest
squirrel in the world.”
A clock chimed. Bloop. Dragon
sprouted tall.
Tick-tick-tick. Zoop. Squirrel
shrank small.
“I’ll always remember being
big enough for your Viking
chair,” said Squirrel.
“I’ll always remember being
little enough for your armchair,”
said Dragon. “But chairs or no
chairs, I’m glad we’re friends.
Want to go on a picnic?”
“That sounds like fun!”
So Dragon and Squirrel
picnicked at the lake. A log made
a wonderful seat for sitting side
by side.
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Sitting by Karen M. Leet
Art by Isabel Roxas
I sit on a pillow. I sit on the floor.
I sit with my legs crossed. I sit near the door.
art © 2015 by Isabel Roxas
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sideways.
I sit
I sit on the sofa. I sit on the bed.
But when I get excited, I stand on my heead! W
We sit
ttogether.
15
The Snowman
by Dara Sanders Dokas I Art by Cyd Moore
Mark
snowflakes
hat
trees
carrot
bushes
scarf
One winter morning, and went out to play.
There were falling on the . There were
falling on the . There were falling on and
, too!
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snowman Kim
buttons
“Today is a good day to build a ,” said .
“We will need a and ,” said .
“We will need a and 3 ,” said .
found a red and a . found a
blue and 3 .
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umbrella
sun
snowman
Mark
snowflakes
Kim
As and finished their , the stopped
falling and the started to shine.
“We need one more thing for our ,” said .
“What?” asked .
“We need an ,” said , “to keep the from
melting our !”
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Snowballs
When snow falls,
And cold winds blow,
Snowballs
Are fun to throw.
Scoop some snow
From the ground.
Roll it. Pat it.
Make it round.
Winter snowballs,
Throw them high.
Watch them fall—
Watch them fly!
by Pat Sandifer Borum
19 Art by Joung Un Kim
Parade
by Mary Catherine Johnson X Art by Julia Sarcone-Roach
T 4 T T 4 T T 4H
T
Toot - el - y toot, play on the flute, march-ing to - geth - er
T H T T T
T T T T
down the street, rum-met-ty tum, play on the drum,
T T T H T H T T T 4 T T 4
smil-ing at ev’ - ry one we meet. Toss the ba - ton, where has it gone?
4 T 4
T T 4 T T 4
Whirl-ing and twirl-ing toward the sky! Catch it! Don’t let it fall!
T T T T T T T 4
T T T
Peo-ple will clap and call as we march mer - ri - ly by! (stamp, stamp)
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21
Art by Laura Watson
Nob body can hear this silly band! The instruments are missing.
Can
C you match each instrument with the musician who
wants to play it?
recorder
guitar
violin
drum set
maracas
Answer on page 35.
accordion piano
22
23
art © 2015 by Laura Watson
by Rhonda Telfer Art by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
“I hate Tuesdays,” said Finn. “Tuesdays are the
worst days now.”
“Wait and see,” said his mother. “You haven’t
even met Miss Bea.”
Finn was starting piano lessons. Every Tuesday,
at 3:30, right after school. Right when his feet
wanted to run and jump. Right when his hands
wanted to build his new Star-Blaster. (He had the kit
with him, just in case Miss Bea wasn't home.)
24 art © 2015 by Tatjana Mai-Wyss
Finn’s mother rang the doorbell.
“Maybe she went shopping,”
said Finn. “Or maybe she’s too
grumpy to give a lesson. Maybe
she’s sick and doesn’t want to give
me germs.”
But the door opened, and
there was Miss Bea, at home,
smiling and looking very healthy.
“Hello there, Finn,” she said.
“Come on in.”
Miss Bea’s piano was black and
shiny. It had a curvy clock, a stack
of books, and a gold lamp on top.
Finn sat on the bench. His feet sure
couldn’t run now. They couldn’t
even touch the floor. He held on
to his Star-Blaster kit.
“That looks like a special box,”
said Miss Bea. “Is it something new?”
“It’s going to be a Star-Blaster,”
said Finn, “but I have to wait till
I get home.” He tried not to look
grumpy when he said it.
25
“Ah, so you’re a builder,” said Miss Bea. “That’s
very good. I bet you can figure out how this piano
works. Why don’t you start by pressing some keys?”
Finn pressed some white keys. Then he pressed
some black keys. Then he pressed a white one and
a black one at the same time. It didn’t really make a
song, but Miss Bea said she liked it.
Then, to Finn’s surprise, she took away the
clock, the books, the lamp, and—whoa!—popped
the piano open.
“I didn’t know it had a lid,” said Finn.
“Every piano does. It has hammers, too,” said
Miss Bea. “Stand on the bench and look inside.”
26
Finn’s mother held him
steady. The hammers weren’t
the kind he expected. They were
pieces of wood with round ends.
The ends were covered with felt.
Some were fat. Some were skinny.
Finn touched the felt. It was soft
and fuzzy.
There was a row of strings
in front of the hammers. The
strings were made of metal.
Some were fat. Some were skinny.
Finn touched a string. It was
cool and tight.
“Now press a key and watch
what happens,” said Miss Bea.
Finn pressed a key and
(bong!) a fat hammer hit a fat
string. He pressed another key
and (bing!) a skinny hammer
hit a skinny string. Pressing lots
of keys at once made lots of
hammers hit lots of strings. It still
wasn’t a song, but Miss Bea said,
“Good job.”
27
Finn sat down and tried more keys. His left
hand made low rumbles, and Miss Bea said it
sounded like a rocket blast. His right hand made
high twinkles, and Miss Bea said it made her
think of stars.
Then Miss Bea had a question. “If you were
going to build a piano, how many pieces would
you need?”
“H’m . . . fifty?” guessed Finn.
“More,” said Miss Bea.
“A hundred forty-two?” guessed Finn.
“Many more.”
Finn guessed all the way up to nine hundred
fifty-seven, but it was “More, more, more.”
He tried sixty-eight zillion. “Not quite,”
laughed Miss Bea. “But it’s still a big number:
ten thousand pieces.”
“Whoa,” said Finn. “My Star-Blaster only has
sixty-two. But it’s still going to be hard to put
it together.”
“But it will be worth it,” said Miss Bea. “Piano
lessons are like that, too. You work and work to
build a song. You use keys and hammers and
strings. Your songs can be fast or slow, high or
low, soft or loud.”
28
29
“I want to build a fast loud one,” said Finn.
“You will,” said Miss Bea, “when your fingers
learn to run and jump. But for now, our time is up.”
On the way home, Finn asked his mother how
many songs there were to learn.
“There must be thousands,” she said. “Especially
if you practice.”
“Then I’d better start soon,” said Finn. He looked
at his building fingers. “How many days,” he asked,
“till Tuesday?”
30
Happy New Year!
by Pat Sandifer Borum xArt by Susan Swan
New day.
New year.
Happy times
Are here.
“Bye” to the old.
“Hi” to the new.
May wishes and dreams
Come true for you.
31
New Year’s
Resolutions
,
W YEAR'S
O R NE M her,
YF h !
AD
RE '
NG v
TTI
G E
up until
before!
Aft
f er midnig
ht,
the new ye
ar
beg ins!
I almost forgot to make Uh, what's a resolution?
my New Year's resolution!
pro mise to yo ur Oh, I
t 's a a better pe self . like that!
I e r so n
to b .
by John Sandford
32
I promise I resolve to
An d I
myself not stop being G
to eat such a I co u UESS
being l d sto p
so much know-it-all. so bo
ssy!
PIE!
t bu mbleber r y!
an
now
I hu d, did yo u k t
w
E! T no
LOOK! PI er r y is
bu mbleb it? It's a
fru
really a nt
m b le o f differe . .
ju ies .
n d ber r
fruits a MUDDLE!
Less talking,
more pie!
Peachy!
't last lon
d idn g!
i o ns
Ha! t
Those resolu
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ou
Can y ?
do thi
s
Grasshoppers Three
th
en g wi
s s r th Anonymous
a ree
Gr o
n
iddling went,
Art by Laura Zarrin yl
t,
a
a - f
t all d s b
v
y, ho, ne er be sti The
y paid no money Bu
l bow
ll. e
He towa
rd their rent,
f iddled a t
They une ca
lled “Rillo rilloby,”
Fiddled a tun by,
e called
“Rilloby, rill.”
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