Page 2 - Kind News Parent Guide, September/October 2023

P. 2

ANSWER KEY

Critter Clues FROM PAGE 7

Our mystery critter is the porcupine. There are about
25 species around the world, each with a protective coat of
quills. The North American Porcupine lives in forested and
scrubby, rural areas. These slow-moving, gentle herbivores like
leaves, twigs, and plants.
Porcupines are rarely aggressive and don’t shoot their quills,
but the spikey, modified hairs detach easily when touched as
a defense mechanism against would-be predators. When
threatened, porcupines may stomp, hiss, or swing their quill-covered
tails. You can keep pets safe from a “quilling” by not letting them roam
at dusk or after dark. While they sometimes forage during daylight, they
are mostly nocturnal. Keep pets from exploring caves, hollow trees, and logs
which are popular denning sites for porcupines during bad weather. If your dog
gets “quilled,” keep him as still as possible to keep the quills from moving deeper into the
skin, and get to a veterinarian right away! The tiny barbs on quills make quill removal a painful
procedure that requires anesthesia.
Porcupine quills served as the earliest material for Native American embroidery. Women of the Great
Plains, for example, used quills to decorate shirts, moccasins, and other materials. Quills continue to
be used in basketry by various tribes to this day.

BOOK NOOK

Lily Unleashed
COVER: REDROVER; THIS PAGE: NATALIAVO/BIGSTOCKPHOTO.COM.
Written by J.D. Kloster | Recommended for grades 3-6
When sixth-grader Lily Grabowski learns about Cagney, a Maltese rescued from a puppy mill by
her teacher, she has to do something to help. But taking the dog into her home sets off a chain
of events that challenges her dog smarts and relationships with family and neighbors. In this
rare, realistic fiction novel centering on puppy mills, students will learn common behaviors of
dogs from puppy mills and see an in-depth example of a young humane hero’s motivations and
actions including a school-based group project.

About the Author: As a teacher, read-aloud was Jo Anna (“J.D.”) Kloster’s favorite part of the day. Lily Unleashed is her
debut novel inspired by her real-life “heart-dog,” Cagney, who was rescued from a Wisconsin puppy mill. Kloster now
serves as a volunteer animal advocate for The Humane Society of the United States.
LILY UNLEASHED © 2022 BY EMPTY CAGES PRESS LLC; AUTHOR PHOTO CREDIT: PATRICK KLOSTER

SUBSCRIPTION QUESTION? WE ARE HAPPY TO HELP YOU. PLEASE CONTACT:
KINDNEWSSUPPORT@REDROVER.ORG • PHONE: 1-877-902-9757

kind news © redrover. all rights reserved. kind news may not be reproduced in any form without written
permission from redrover. student contributions may be edited for readability. the classroom
editor, nicole forsyth; design consultant, sass studios; education advisors and edition of kind news is published five times a year, september through may. a classroom subscription,
contributors: heidi colonna, minhhan lam, karly noel, amelia saris, and johanna casao subsidized by charitable donations, is available at $30 per year and each issue includes 28 copies of
kind news plus a teacher guide. kind news is also available as a single-copy home subscription,
published five times a year, including a parent guide, for $10 per subscription.

1 2