Animal Spotlight:

Polar Bear

Purrs and Grrrs

Issue 17
Dec. 5, 2009

Your Own Pages-Page 3

Style SNAP!- Page 4 Polar Bears-Page 5

Penguin Musings Page 6

Pet Stocking Stuffers Page 7

Bad Cat, Bad!- Page 8

Note From Editor

Hey everyone! Wow, can you guys believe its already December?? Christmas is almost here!! (Yay!) Over on page 4, we are predicting some flurries of feathers for the winter season. Starla has written a special winter edition of 5 Starlas for this issue; check it out over on page 7. Right across on page 6, we have an article entitled, Penguin Musings of a 3-Year-Old, hosted by my penguin-obsessed , little sister. The title pretty much says it all, and Im sure youll find it interesting! Page 5 is the bearer of our polar bear article in honor of winter and (hopefully!) snow. Speaking of polar bears and snow, right across here on page 3, Claire has also done a special review for us on a new young adult book entitled Ice. (Gotta love the beautiful cover art!) And then on page 4 we also have a semi-short article about Claire (my little sis, not the reviewer!) and Is first horse show!! Its been an incredibly awesome year for Purrs and Grrrs, and I hope you guys enjoyed the mag this year. Until 2010!
Love,

Rachel

Me and my little sis, Claire, before our first horse show!!

Hi! My names Strider and Im a Netherland dwarf rabbit. I like apples, having my back stroked and being cuddled.

Hia! My name is Despereaux. Im a Chinese dwarf hamster that loves escaping from my cage. And yes, you may call me Houdini.

Hello! Im Pevensie. Im a dwarf hamster that loves sunflower seeds.

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PURRS AND GRRRS

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Turkey Showdown
Just thought I might put in a little something about our Thanksgiving turkey whom we got to meet before he was butchered! Here he is, and isnt he handsome. Weighing in at around 26 pounds, this big guy will keep us thinking up new turkeyrelated recipes till the end of the year!

n! itio l Ed cia Spe

Hi! My name is Claire Cella. Every month, Purrs and Grrrs will feature one of my book reviews! I am a 14 year old in 9th grade from San Francisco. I like riding my pony, Kodachrome (Kody) and blogging on my book blog, which you can visit at: www.bookwormbook lovers.blogspot.com Enjoy!
Love,

Claires Corner
Status:
Age Level: 13-18 No. of Pages: Author: Claires Rating:

Claire
Ice
with her father at an Arctic research station, is determined to become a scientist, and has no time for makebelieve. Then, on her 18th birthday, Cassie comes face-to-face with a polar bear who speaks to her. He tells her that her mother is alive, imprisoned at the ends of the earth. And he can bring her back--if Cassie will agree to be his bride. That is the beginning of Cassie's own real-life fairy tale, one that sends her on an unbelievable journey through the brutal Arctic, through the Canadian boreal forest, and on the back of the North Wind to the land east of the sun and west of the moon. Before it is over, the world she knows will be swept away, and everything she holds dear will be taken from her--until she discovers the
true meaning of love and family.

When Cassie was a little girl, her grandmother told her a fairy tale about her mother, who made a deal with the Polar Bear King and was swept away to the ends of the earth. Now that Cassie is older, she knows the story was a nice way of saying her mother had died. Cassie lives

Please Note: The views and ideas expressed here are not necessarily the views of the editor and/or publisher.

u er F l eath F

rries

Style SNAP!
Earrings Silver Rose/Feathers Bionic Unicorn
www.bionicunicorn.etsy.com

$39.00

Earrings Neon Feathers Still Tree Jewellery

www.Stilltreejewellery.etsy.com

Headband Iridescent Feathers Lov Mely

www.lovmely.etsy.com

$17.00

$36.00

Horse Show Success

Claires Class: Claire was in a walk/trot beginner class with seven other riders. The rain was holding off and Claire was really excited and ready to ride! Claire did very well with all the commands, although she did hove to exert a lot of force to get Velvet to trot. (Not that thats anything new!) Claires favorite thing about riding in the horse show was getting to ride her all-time favorite pony Velvet. They both did a wonderful job together and won a welldeserved yellow ribbon, which I thought was great considering ho long weve been riding!! (Yellow ribbon is third place.) Rachels Class: Unfortunately, my class was not as fortunate as Claires. Right before my class began, it started pouring down rain! So Mrs. Brown said wed have to
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PURRS AND GRRRS

Finish the rest of the show another day. But then it stopped raining, and we went to mount up again, which is when it started raining...again! So we went to take the horses down to the barn when...it stopped raining! We did the class very quickly and.I got third place. It was a great first horseshow!!!

Issue 17

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Polar Bear
The polar bear, is a mammal native to the Arctic ocean and the surrounding areas. This massive creature, twice the size of lions and tigers, are credited as the worlds largest carnivore found on land. A fullgrown adult male can weigh up to 1,500 pounds. The largest recorded weight for a male polar bear was 2,210 pounds! Where polar bears live, food is scarce and they live mainly on a diet of seals. One way a polar bear they are born, but gradually yellows with age. Polar bears have an excellent scent of smell, very good vision and hunts for food is by waiting near a hole in the ice for a seal to surface for a breath of air. When it does, the polar bear snatches it up-he can not afford to miss seeing as it is very unlikely that he will catch a seal either on land or in open waters. However, when fresh seal is not available, the polar bear eats musk ox, reindeer, rodents, eggs birds, even other polar bears! Polar bears have almost a 4 inch layer of blubber under their fur then insulates them against the cold winds and frigid waters. Their fur is pure white when but stays active all year round. They are also not territorial. Although they can be somewhat aggressive, they would rather flee then fight. In general, adult polar bears lead solitary lives. However, young males have often been seen playing together harmlessly, perhaps preparing for the mating season when they will fight over the females. Polar bear cubs are often

hearing about as good as the average human. They are also superb swimmers-in fact, they spend most of their time in the cold, Arctic waters. The polar bear can swim at the speed of 6 miles per hour using its paws in a dog-paddle technique. Unlike other bears, the polar bear does not hibernate, from their den with their mother, they weigh about 32 pounds. For the next two and a half years, the cubs will stay with their mother and she will continue to nurse them until they go off on their own.

seen in pairs and are very playful to each other. When cubs are first born, covered in a light, down fur, blind and weigh less then 2 pounds. The average littler size is two cubs. The little cubs stay in the den with their mother for a period of about two months during which they survive on their mamas rich milk. When the cubs emerge

Penguin Musings
Hosted By: Arwen J. Buoni

of a 3-Year-Old

Penguins are very cute..and theyre funny, and I like them! I wanna buy a little penguin...in January. I really, really like penguins because.I dont know!

[Laughs] I like the baby penguins the best! I also like cute seals-baby seals. I want to visit some penguins at the zoo sometime. I would play with them and sing them songs. Id also feed them little fishes. When I grow up, I want to be a baby penguin! I also like the way penguins waddle. [Giggles] Sometimes I pretend to waddle like that! They are just very nice animals.

Adventures in Bird-Feeding
Well, my family and I certainly didnt realize what a large assortment of birds wed get once we put out our new bird feeder! Although I wasnt able to take photos of all of them, I didnt manage to catch quite a few. Here they are for your enjoyment!

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Pet Stocking Stuffers!

For Your Horse Fluffernutter Biscuits (Pack of 24) Neigh Caf $10.00 www.neighcafe.etsy.com

For Your Cat: Decapitated Rats-Head Toy Spell Well $12.00 www.spellwell.etsy.com

For Your Dog Dress w/ Headband Young Urban Puppy

www.youngurbanpuppy.etsy.com

$15.00

5 Starlas
Hi! My names Starla and
every month Ill be writing a movie review for you. Im 12 years old and I have a pony named Caspian. I also have a few ducklings; they are so cute!! I live in Valley Springs, California with my mom, dad, and all of our animals. Well, I hope you all enjoy my reviews! Love,

Status:
Running Time: 99 minutes Rating: PG Starlas Rating:

Starla
out that he is adopted and gets a summons to the hearing of his birth mothers will. When he arrives in Telketna, Alaska, he inherits his mothers seven. Champion, mushing dogs and a sweet, little border collie. While on a quest to find his birth father, he gets the full Alaskan experience-and then some! With the annual Arctic Challenge dog-sled race coming up, Ted has some pretty crazy adventures with his new-found friends! Extremely funny, this movie stars Cuba Gooding, Jr., James Coburn and Joanna Bacalso, with a special appearance by Michael Bolton.

Snow Dogs
This story takes place in a little village in Alaska with a bit in sunny Miami. Ted Brooks, a hot-shot, Miami dentist has it all; an expensive condo, a huge office even his face on a bus! But then everything changes when he finds

Please Note: The views and ideas expressed here are not necessarily the views of the editor and/or publisher.

Bad Cat, Bad!

One bad cat, two bad cat, Glaring at me. Blue-eyed cat, green-eyed cat, Not liking me. All that I wanted was to give them a treat, But now that would be one incredible feat! For these nasty kitties are angry, and mad. And what do I say to them? Bad Cat, Bad!

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A Prince or a Knight
Sir Lancelot stopped momentarily to look at her and then resumed his snorting and bucking. Carissa searched the field franticly for her teacher who wasnt anywhere to be seen. Carissa raced up to Lancelot. Lancelot! she cried Its Carissa! Come on boy! Lancelot stopped bucking and looked at her with frightened eyes. Carissa slowly made her way up to him. Lancelot, she cooed, whats wrong, sweetie? She touched the snip at the end of his nose and listened to his labored breathing. He looked her in the eyes and laid his head on her shoulder. Carissa silently took the bridle from one of the stable hands. She slipped the halter over Sir Lancelots head and led him over to the barn where she checked him for cuts and scrapes. Carissa didnt think he was hurt although his front left leg looked a little swollen. She rifled through the medical kit for a bandage. She found a turquoise blue one and began to wrap up Sir Lancelots leg. What made you so frightened, huh? she asked Lancelot. Something must have really scared you to make you act like that. She finished wrapping the bandage. Carissa stood up and looked around for an adult. Since no one seemed to be in the area, Carissa led Sir Lancelot over to the office where she knew someone would be. Mrs. Stem, the office secretary, ran out of the office. What happened, Carissa? she asked. She peered at Carissa from behind her thick, rounded, glasses. Can you call my mom? asked Carissa. Im going to take Sir Lancelot home with me. Carissa and her mother and father sat down with the board of directors from the stables later that week. As Carissa explained what had transpired at the stables the day Sir Lancelot appeared at the stables, the faces of the board grew grim. Were going to have to look into this, said one of the board. A few weeks later as Carissa was starting her riding lesson, the director of the board, Mr. Harrison, called her into the office. We have been investigating the mysterious behavior of this horse Lancelot for the past weeks and found out the reasons for his behavior. He went on. Apparently, Lancelots owner, Mr. Carder, was involved in trafficking drug throughout the state. He used Lancelot sometimes as a diversion and sometimes as compliance. Obviously, Lancelot had no decision in these matters seeing as he is a horse. Mr. Harrison paused for a breath then continued. Lancelot apparently refused to do what Carder asked him to do on more then one occasion and for that, Carder kicked and abused him. Carissa shuddered. Carder will obviously go to jail, Mr. Harrison said. Its just a matter of time. What will happen to all of his horses? Carissa asked anxiously turning over images of Sir Lancelot in her head. They will either be confiscated or sold. Mr. Harrison looked at Carissa. Why do you ask? he said. Oh, nothing. Just a thought. She said. Carissa sat there for a moment then jumped up. Can I use your phone? she said.

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PURRS AND GRRRS

Special thanks to Jazmine Rolon, Claire Cella and Starla Smith!