CUMBERLAND — The Allegany Public Library System held a Read to the Animals event at the Allegany County Fair and Ag Expo on Wednesday afternoon.
A part of the library system’s Summer With Our Library program, the event enabled elementary and middle school students to practice their reading skills by showing them off to animals being exhibited by 4-H and Future Farmers of America chapters. Animals waiting to hear stories included chickens, goats, rabbits and horses.
Ashley Swinford, the director of marketing and research for the library system, said the event is important to the development of reading proficiency in children.
“Reading to someone or an animal is going to be welcoming and comforting and it really helps (children) practice without judgment, especially when reading out loud,” she said.
Being able to bolster confidence in younger children as they learn to read is critical.
“Even some parents will grab a book and read to the animals,” Swinford said. “It’s all ages. We’ve had adults show up that are learning to read.”
Over the last four years, Swinford has seen upward of 100 participants in the event, and this year was no different. Families with toddlers to middle schoolers got to interact and read to the animals.
“It’s a nice partnership that brings two different kinds of groups together,” said Renee Mason, the library system’s art and graphics coordinator.
Giving children the opportunity to interact with these animals and the members of the Ag Expo benefits both sides of the event.
“Parents are a child’s first teacher, and reading to them is super important,” Swinford said.
For Wednesday’s event, children and parents selected a free book to read to an animal of their choice, ranging from picture to chapter books. The distribution of books to local families can help to increase literacy in the county.
“As a mom, it’s always nice to have more books in the house,” Mason said.
According to the library system, developing proficient readers at kindergarten age is one of the biggest steps toward increasing communication and literacy skills.
The library system has events planned for the rest of the summer that will give children the opportunity to continue to improve their reading skills while out of school. Many of them include free books, support local businesses and promote library visitation.
For more information on the summer programs and other literary opportunities, see the library system’s website at www.alleganycountylibrary.info.