Therapy dog Rowan and his teammate Diane Houston listen to book talk at The Eric Carle Museum
Bright Spot Therapy Dogs Rowan, Lily, Max and Milo sat among a large group of children and their families gathered in the library at The Eric Carle Museum listening to author Angela Diterlizzi and illustrator Brenden Wenzel talk about the process involved in creating their new book Some Pets.
While both Angela and Brenden talked about how their childhood experiences influenced the drawings and types of pets they chose to write about in their book, the dogs seemed as mesmerized by the talk as were the young children in the audience.
Reading Buddy Dogs Lily, Rowan, Max and Milo pose for a photo in front of Eric Carle’s Very Hungry Caterpillar
Rowan, Lily, Max and Milo are no strangers to children, books, and listening. These four therapy dogs are specially trained as Reading Buddy Dogs.
Each dog participates in The Eric Carle School Vacation Reading Buddy Program held during February, April, and Summer Vacations. The program started three years ago and keeps growing in popularity. Some of the same children have attended every session since the program began in the summer of 2014. They know the Reading Buddy dogs well and can’t wait to read their favorite books to them.
In addition to The Eric Carle Museum, the Bright Spot Reading Buddy Program is held in elementary and middle schools in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Maine.
As a Thank You for attending the author talk at The Carle, each Therapy Dog was given a copy of Some Pets signed by both Angela and Brendan.