51-1 (82)
Release Date Dec. 18-24
for
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Inl
Distinguished Achievement Awards W inner
By BETTY DEBNAM
A Visit Front St. Nicholas
from The Mini Page by Betty Debna m Ii> 1982 Universal Press Syndicate
"A Visit from St.
Nicholas" is better known
as "The Night Before
Christmas." This poem
was written by Dr.
Clement Moore as a
present to his children on
Christmas Eve, 1822.
To celebrate the holiday
season, The Mini Page
presents a copy of this
poem to read and color.
The-art is based on a
Christmas booklet first
published in 1846. Thomas
N ast, a famous political
cartoonist, is thought to
have been the artist.
Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even
a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the
chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would
be there.
The children were nestled all snug in
their beds,
While visions of sugarplums danced
in their heads;
And mamma in her kerchief and I in
my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long
winter's nap When out on the lawn there rose such
a clatter,
I sprang from my bed to see what was
the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a
flash,
-
Tore open the shutters and threw up
the sash.
The moon on the breast of the newfallen snow,
Gave a lustre of midday to objects
below;
When, what to my wondering eyes
should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny
reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and
quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St.
Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers
they came,
And he whistled and shouted and
called them by name;
"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now,
Prancer and Vixen!
"On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder
and Blitzen!
.
"To the top of the porch! To the top of
the wall!
"Now dash away! dash away! dash
away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild
hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle,
mount to the sky,
So up to the housetop the coursers
they flew,
With a sleigh full of toys, and St.
Nicholas too.
(continued on back page)
51-2 (82)
Release Date Dec. 18-24
Meet the author of 01JY favorite ChristDlas pOeDl
Children of long ago knew a
lot about Santa before Dr.
Clement Moore wrote his
famous poem, "A Visit From St.
Nicholas."
They knew he dressed in furs
and he arrived through the
chimney.
But how did he travel?
Dr. Moore was the first to fill
in the details about the sleigh
and eight tiny reindeer.
You can imagine how much
his family enjoyed the poem as
they gathered around their
fireplace on that Christmas Eve
r;;\~
Dr. Clement
Moore was the
father of nine
children!
\
___
_
Each year, at a Christmas Eve
ceremony, children from nearby
churches lay a Christmas wreath on
Moore's grave at Trinity Cemetery
in New York City.
in 1822, over 150 years ago.
A relative copied the poem
and took it to a newspaper
editor in Troy, N.Y. The paper
printed the poem the following
December. However, the
author's name was not-..given..
The poem was first printed
under Moore's name in 1837
when it appeared in a book with
other poems by the author.
Moore was born in 1779 in
New York City. He became a
language teacher at an
Episcopal college for men
studying to become ministers.
",..
from The Mini Page by Betty Debna m " 1982 Universal Pres. Syndicate
Each word in the Christmas tree is hidden in
one of the sentences below. We have done the
first one for you. See if you can find the rest.
1. He will not reenter the room.
DoTHE. MATH,
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'g
J;
'THEN COL-oR
BY NUMBE..R:
\ RE:D
1.. GREEN
2
9-1
2
3 BROWN
2. She will play music and
3. My son goes to school.
4. We will sing if told to.
5. Is the car old?
6. The grass is now green.
7. He is tardy again.
\
• glass
• sailboat
• sweater
• chicken leg
• bird
\
• pop bottle
• caterpillar
• word MINI
Words about "The Night Before Christmas" are hidden
in the block below. See if you can find: night, mouse,
stockings, chimney, sugarplums, nap, clatter, bed,
window, shutters, sleigh, reindeer, dash, house, toys,
Saint Nicholas, roof, fur, beard, white, jelly, finger,
Merry Christmas, team, snug, cap.
HAVE You A B S U GAR P L U M S Y Z M
HUNG UP
F C T F D BED T VCR 0 0 F
YOU R
I M 0 USE ISO U H W X H D
SToCKIN G? N E C R LAN R Y WIN DOW
GFKXERDASHMJNUC
E G I MID E C Q I N E I S L
RSNUGTEAMTELGEA
NPGNHQRPSEYLHYT
A P SHU T T E R S X Y T B T
P S A I N T N I C H 0 LAS E
MER R Y C H R 1ST MAS R
Release Date Dec. 18-24
51-3 (82)
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I Ch?colate ChrIstmas Treats
I
You II need:
• 1/2 cup butter
2 squares (1 ounce
each) unsweetened
. chocolate
2 cups sugar
What to do:
I•
I•
I
• 1/ 2 cup milk
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
extract
• 3 cups quick-cooking
oats (uncooked)
~~ I
9
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ll.helpA~kyouanmelt
adult to
I butter and the
I sugar
chocolate. Add
and milk.
2. Remove from
heat. Stir in
oats, nuts and
vanilla.
heating and
I Keep
stirring until
To find the punch line, use the pictures
as a guide to unscramble the words.
Enter the circled letters into the space
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3.
mixture
to cool to medium
warm. Roll
teaspoonfuls into
balls. Place on
wax-paper-lined
cookie sheets.
dissolved.
Isugar is ChI
'11 untI'1 fI'rm Makes about 6 dozen
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The Mini Page Map of the U.S.A. is a colorful 23-by-35-inch map that
includes state capitals, state birds and state flowers. For your copy,
send $3.00 J>lus 75 cents (postage an~ handling) to: Mini Page Ma p,
Universal Press Syndicate, 4400 Johnson Drive, Fairway, Kan. 66205.
Supersport: Dave Butz
Dave Butz is a big
chief on the Washington
Redskins football team.
Last season, the 6-foot
7-inch, 295-pound tackle
had 82 tackles and five
quarterback sacks. One
organization named him
the Redskin Defensive Player of the
Year.
Dave was an All-American at Purdue
University in Indiana. Before joining
the Redskins seven years ago, he
played for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Dave is married and has one son,
David Jr.
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam
@
1982 Universal Pre•• Syndicate
MINI PAGE classics are ideal
Christmas gifts for the kids in your
family or sch.__ &~
Go dot to dot
3.
2 ••'. b2. lol
4. Co • bO
s· -56· 5'1
1 •
¢
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•
5"S"
.
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•
•
Ib 15•
•
IS
•
•
21
•
_ _ copies of The Mini Page Activity
ORDER NOW FOR CHRISTMAS!
Book @ $5.95 ea.
Please send:
_ _ copies of The All-New Best of The
_ _ copies of The Mini Page Kids' CookMini Page@$7.95 ea.
book @ $5.95 ea.
_ _ copies of The Mini Page Map of the
_
_ copies of The Mini Page Mighty
U.S.A. @$3.75 ea.
Funny Party Book @ $5.95 ea.
Total amount enclosed _ _ .
Name _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
Address _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
_ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ State _ _ _ _ Zip _ _ __
Send y our check or money order to: The Mini Pale c/o Thil new_paper. 4400 Johnson Dr., Fairway. Ks. 66205
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These four books and the map provide a wealth of activity, fun
and information for the whole family. And they will keep your
children entertained and delighted for months to come.
""c::
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'· 29
38
51-4 (82)
Release Date Dec. 18-24
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And then in a twinkling, I heard on
the roof,
The prancing and pawing of each
little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was
turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came
with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his
head to his foot,
He was chubby and plump, a right
jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in
spite of myself.
A wink of his eye and a twist of his
head.
Soon gave me to know I had nothing
to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went
straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then
turned with a jerk,
And his clothes were all tarnished
with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his
back,
And he looked like a pedlar just
opening his pack.
His eyes how they twinkled! his
dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose
like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up
like a bow,
nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he
rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team
gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down
of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove
out of sight,
"MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL,
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT!"
=tFACT~~RODHIES
o ALPHA FACTS
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Olympics
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In the opening ceremonial
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parade of each Olympics,
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the Greek team is always
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the leader. This custom
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honors the fact that the
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Greeks started the games Otters
back in 776 B.C. The host Otters sometimes eat while
lying on their backs in the
team is always last.
water. They use their stomach
as a table.
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And the beard on his chin was as
If
"~
white as the snow;
The stump of a pipe he held tight in ~
his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head
like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round
belly
That shook when he laughed like a
bowl full of jelly.
~
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Organ
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The liver, weighing a little ~ ~ ~C-Aover 3 pounds, is the largest
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and heaviest organ in the
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body.
from The Mini P age by Betty De bna m C> 1982 Universal Pres. Syndicate
.
'~~':~'S NEWSPAPER ABC's
An alphabetical guide to your newspapers.
Scoop: an important story that a newspaper publishes
before its competition does. Newspapers like to get
scoops.
S6t type: to arrange lines of words in order. Today, this
is mostly done by computers.
Stylebook: a book many newspaper reporters and
editors use as a spelling and grammar guide.
.-=---.----=:-::--.....---,
Syndicate: a company that sells features, comics and cartoons to newspapers. For
example, a creator will draw a comic strip.
A syndicate will sell it to newspapers all
over the country. The syndicate and the
creator usually split the revenues.
1
_1-
S.
f'
'l-
• Look through y.our paper for
-S' - - - - syndicated features.
1
_
_
from The Mini Pa.e by Betty Debnam
@ 1982 Universal Pres. Syndicate
Release Dates: December 18-24
tft;°l\~i~f ~
51 (82)
Teacher's
Guide
For use by teachers and parents at home and at
school.
For use with issue: A Visit From St. Nicholas
Main idea: To present the famous Christmas poem "A Visit From St.
Nicholas," along with tracings of the original drawings. The following is a list
of activities to be used with this issue. The activities are listed in order of
difficulty, with the easier pre-reader assignments listed first. Ask the children to
do or answer the following:
1. Circle Christmas Day on their calendar.
2. Draw a picture of a Christmas scene.
3. Describe what they see in the drawings on Pages 1 and 4.
4. Act out "A Visit From St. Nicholas" with their classmates.
5. Make up their own poems about Christmas.
6. Circle all the sets of rhyming words at the ends of the lines. For example,
"house" and "mouse" are the first set of rhymes. Think of additional words
that rhyme with each set.
7. Make a list of all the types of punctuation in the poem.
8. Who was Thomas Nast?
9. Find the definitions for the following words from the poem: obstacle,
lustre, courser, tarnished, droll and thistle.
10. Figure out how many years ago "A Visit From St. Nicholas" was
written.
In your paper:
1. Look for some last-minute Christmas gift ideas.
2. Look for pictures of Christmas activities.
(Note to Editor: Above is the Teacher's Guide for Issue 51.)
~~~~
from The Mini Page by Betty Debnam
C>
1982 Universal Pres. Syndicate
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Help Mini Spy find her ________ .
(Note to Editor: Above is copy block for Page 3, Issue 51, to
be used in place of ad if desired.)
'------