The Explorer

Reading clubs are a great way to get kids excited about reading. Now through February 16, children are invited Pop Open a Good Book. Come this summer, we’ll have a travel-themed reading club. And year-round we offer the Reading Patch Club for preschoolers and independent readers. Over the years, tens of thousands of children have earned prizes for meeting their reading goals, and now – for the first time – a dog has joined our club!

Bo belongs to the OCSPCA Canine Literacy Project in California where he listens to children read in elementary school classrooms and at the Anaheim Public Library. He is such a good partner that the children who read to him improve their reading skills and confidence and are able to read with more expression in their voices. Bo’s owner, Dory, convinced me that his efforts have earned him a patch. After all, he was a reading partner for 75 minutes a week for seven weeks! How could I say no to a therapy dog who loves stories? Bo received his red and yellow patch in the mail last week and couldn’t be happier. “Bo will be the envy of other dogs,” Dory says. I think his sibling, Starr is already jealous.