TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Eight pups came to lend a paw at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library on March 2.
Event leaders say the aim is to give kids a positive, confident experience reading.
“The biggest benefit is watching kids smile when they read books, when they smile, when they’re reading a book they’re more likely to read a book again, and we all know that students who read are the ones who succeed,” Prairieland Visiting Animals Association member Debby Martin.
“We do some comprehension questions,” Prairieland Visiting Animals Association Volunteer Aubree Taylor said. ”We ask them what’s going on in the story like what do you think is going to happen next, just skills they’ll need as they get older.”
This decade-long event has had children at the center, but a year ago they saw something was missing.
“We had several children that came that didn’t speak English and I thought ‘I don’t have a book to give them that they need’ and I started whining and we all the sudden got this grant,” Martin said.
A grant from the 20/30 Club allowed them to purchase books to include all children, with new brail and Spanish speaking books. It’s paving the way to help everyone grow confident in reading…
“This is Shawnee County and Shawnee County is beautiful, we are a rainbow and we’re all included in this rainbow,” Martin said. “All different kinds of colors, this is who we are.”
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