Young students will soon be able to practice their reading to a different audience through a new reading program created by the local library and animal shelter.
Books and Barks!, hosted by the Auburn Public Library and Lee County Humane Society, will allow children ages 6–12 to read a book to a dog at the shelter once a month from September to May.
Reading sessions take place at the shelter on the first Monday of each month, with readings lasting from 3–4 p.m. All students must be accompanied by a parent.
Parents can sign their students up for one of the 10 slots on those Mondays at the program’s kickoff event Saturday, Aug. 27 at 10 a.m. or at the humane society’s website.
At the end of the reading, the student will receive a certificate to bring to the library in exchange for a free book.
“What people have found are dogs are such a nonjudgmental audience,” said Ashley Brown, engagement and outreach librarian at the Auburn Public Library. “Usually around third grade … is when kids decide if they’re going to be a reader for life or not, so we really want to encourage that.”
The exercise helps build confidence for new readers and decreases performance anxiety, Brown added.
“When your performance anxiety goes down, you’re able to do a better job,” she said.
But the readings have also been shown to reduce dogs’ stress and improve their behavior, said Ausu Anaraki, fundraising and events coordinator at the humane society.
The humane society’s goal is to facilitate an environment dogs would likely experience after they are adopted, such as hearing a child speak, Anaraki said.
“We don’t know the history of the majority of the animals that come into our shelter, so for many of these dogs, they may have never seen a child or heard a child talk,” Anaraki said. “It makes it easier for them to be adopted out if they’ve had that type of experience.”
Books and Barks! was fashioned after a similar reading program in another state and will be the first time the shelter has hosted a program dedicated to children, Anaraki said.
“We’re hoping we can connect kids with dogs through books,” Brown said.
If all slots fill up quickly, the shelter will add more dates, Anaraki said. The first session will be the first Monday in September.
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