|
 Local news and information from Blue Hill, Brooklin, Brooksville, Sedgwick, and Surry, Maine. |
Visiting the area? Check out the winter edition of the Seasonal Guide visitor's portal.
 |
||||||||||
News Feature
by Anne Berleant Sisters Bri and Gracie, Italian greyhounds, visit the Blue Hill Public Library each Tuesday afternoon at 3:10 for their own kind of story time. Under the care of owner and handler Pier Carros of Ellsworth they follow the paw prints leading from the library’s door into a corner of the children’s room, and curl up on their blankets. Then, children follow, to read to the dogs as part of the library’s reader dog program. “I hear a lot of laughs. Barking, sometimes, too,” said Pat Horton, youth services librarian. The library provides the space, and spreads the word on the program to children and parents. Carros provides the dogs and more. “Pier is really good at helping the kids along,” said Horton. “She’s really non-judgmental and very good with positive feedback.” Participation is limited to six children, 6 years old and over, who are asked to register beforehand. Horton said the slots are usually filled, but in the event of an opening, she will scout the library for volunteers. “We try to encourage [children] to see what reading with a dog is all about,” Horton said. Students from the Blue Hill Consolidated School and the Bay School and home schoolers regularly come to the library to read to Bri and Gracie. Reader dogs, known formally as “Reading Education Assistance Dogs,” are an integral part of a national program designed to improve children’s reading and communication skills. The dogs are registered therapy animals, trained to be good listeners. In addition to helping children read more fluently, the program helps children overcome any fear—of dogs and reading—they may have. Participating children receive books picked out especially for them in May, when the program breaks until resuming in October. And after each Tuesday session, stickers are handed out to the children, and dog treats to Bri and Gracie. “We’re always looking for new readers,” said Horton. |
|
|||||||||||
|
Contact Us • Penobscot Bay Press Community Information Services |
|||||||||||
Cart
