Landon in the Library

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Hello! One of Landon's roles as a therapy dog is to help children learn how to read, and he works in the children's reading program of a local library. After today's reading session, Landon posed in front of some of the children's book stacks (see photo). A few of the children also started taking photos of Landon and he seemed to enjoy all of the attention. 

Many public libraries currently offer this type of reading program for children, as there is evidence that it helps improve children's reading skills. As an additional bonus, the program teaches children how to interact safely with dogs. Also, the therapy dogs seem to like the attention from the kids, and the library workers and the dogs's handlers enjoy both the kids and the dogs. It's a win-win for everyone!

​As an extra fun incentive for the kids, the library where Landon works provides each dog with personal "calling cards" that contain the dog's name, photo, and fun facts about the dog. Once a child finishes reading a book, they receive the dog's card. This encourages the kids to read multiple books (to multiple dogs), so that they can collect more cards. 

Most of the children in the program are between 5 and 9 years old, but sometimes they are even younger. Even though the very young ones cannot read yet, they like to look at the illustrations in the books and tell their own stories. Some of their stories are even more elaborate than the written stories. 

For each reading session, the library workers select an assortment of books for the children to choose from, and then each child selects a book from the group. The child then walks over to an available dog, introduces him/herself, and pets the dog. It is quite adorable. The dogs' handlers assist the children with difficult words and give them encouragement. The kids' parents seem to enjoy watching the entire process. Recently, one child's mother mentioned that at home, her 6-year-old daughter always seems to find an excuse not to practice reading, but she loves to come to the library to read to the dogs. Even better, the program has improved the child's reading.

Landon's own book, "Landon Loves Life" is being launched this summer, and it may even be carried at the library where he works. That would give children the chance to actually read to the real-life star of the book. How exciting that would be! ​​ ​