Spider is an illustrated literary magazine designed for children from 6 to 9 years old. Started in January 1994, the magazine is published in the United States by The Cricket Magazine Group, which is owned by the Carus Publishing Company. The magazine publishes original short stories, poems, nonfiction articles, activities, games and illustrations from world famous authors. It also sponsors an art or writing contest in each issue and publishes work created by its readers.
The magazine is published 9 times a year, every month, except for combined May–June, July–August, and November–December issues.
Contents |
Every issue of Spider is 40 pages long and includes a few recurring sections throughout every magazine.
Notably, there is an illustrated cast of insects that appear in the margins of every page, similar to a comic strip. They include Ophelia the praying mantis, Sam the caterpillar, Sonya the damselfly, Thistle the weevil, Miro the French mushroom, and Spider the spider, who the magazine is named after. The bugs are involved in their own story line throughout each issue, but they also comment on the articles or stories above them. Each insect also has their own personality and specific interest, which dictates their specific section in the magazine; for example, Miro loves food so he can be found in the kitchen or the recipe section of each issue.
Also found in each issue:
As with all the other magazines published by The Cricket Magazine Group, Spider accepts absolutely no advertising.
In June 2008, Cricket, Spider, and Ladybug magazines launched new web sites for their children readers and families.[1] The three new websites reflect the individual style of the magazine and are built around the signature characters that appear in the margins of every issue. The focus of the website is to increase interaction in a different way, with moderated forums, question pools, contests and opportunities to comment on what is being read. There are also interactive games, stories, and more.
The websites are also free of advertising, just like the magazines and a subscription is not required to view the website.
The magazine was a 2007 and 2008 winner of a Gold Parents' Choice Award for excellence in children's publishing. Collectively, the 14 magazines under the Cricket Magazine Group have won every award in North America, including the Association of Educational Publishers Golden Lamp Award and the Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award.
Cricket Magazine Group was started over 35 years ago and currently publishes 8 children's literary magazines. Including Spider, there's Babybug,[2] Ladybug,[3] and Cricket.[4] The last four magazines are a line of non-fiction collections devoted to the sciences, arts and humanities: Cicada,[5] Click,[6] Ask,[7] and Muse.[8]