Mandel Public Library Of West Palm Beach: Dog Tales Returns With A New Furry Friend

West Palm Beach FL

20 September, 2021

10:48 AM

Description

Press release from Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach: 09/19/2021 11:00 AM It is not a secret that magical things happen in the children's area, a.k.a. KidSpace, at the Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach. Dogs bring magic moments to KidSpace while children learn the joy of reading in a comfortable and non-judgmental environment. Dog Tales has provided a warm and welcoming environment to children and their families since 2008 when the program began. It stars dogs of all shapes, breeds, and sizes who sit by a child's side and listen to that child read aloud for 15 minutes. After reading to the therapy dogs, children earn a gift book to build their home library (thanks to the West Palm Beach Library Foundation for the support to purchase these gift books!). Many reluctant readers snuggle up and read to these furry friends and gain confidence reading aloud. But Dog Tales doesn't just help build reading confidence. It gives children the opportunity to learn how to care for pets. To top it off, children even gain emotional support from the dogs, who are trained to bring comfort. Like many of the library's programs, Dog Tales temporarily paused during the pandemic since the program requires the therapy dogs to be physically close to children. After many inquiries from library families who missed this wonderful program, we are happy to share that at last, our beloved Dog Tales is back! And now, we have a new member of our Dog Tales family! Please let me introduce Daya. Daya is a special K-9 from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. Her specialty is comforting people when they face hardship. Fortunately for us, Daya will also use her special skills to share the joy and excitement of reading with our young patrons here at the library. Daya met children at the library for the first time on September 7.  Daya will visit the library on Tuesdays from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM. Please come by say "hi" to Daya! Space is limited – sign up at the KidSpace information desk when you arrive. If you have any questions, please call the Youth Services team at 561-868-7703. We hope to see you soon! This press release was produced by Mandel Public Library of West Palm Beach. The views expressed here are the author's own.