Canine Companion Helps Kids With Reading

“Soixante-dix/Setenta,” or “³70²” is PRIME TIME’s bilingual book-lending project, launched as a pilot program in three communities last summer. Designed by program assistant Hali Dardar, the ³70² program distributes PRIME TIME’s library of humanities-themed bilingual children’s books into multicultural communities to stimulate language projects. The program offers a loan of 70 books (seven sets of 10 children’s books) for the duration of the summer.

One such program recently employed a reader of the canine kind. In Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, courtroom dog Susie “reads” to children who have family members awaiting trial. Young people in the Orleans Parish Study Center (juvenile detention) used ³70² books to “train”
Susie to turn pages, while also practicing their reading skills. The LEH’s collection of bilingual books were also used in courtroom outreach to schools.