By Bridie Smith
It’s a book club with a difference. Some members are furry with tails, others are smooth-skinned with tales to tell.
They meet every week at an animal shelter in Campbellfield, in Melbourne’s north.
Amani, 7, reading to kittens at the Lort Smith adoption centre in Campbellfield.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Crouching on the floor or sitting in a sunny spot overlooking the outdoor “catio”, children open books and read stories softly so as not to spook their audience: a clowder of cats.
Iyah Kumar’s two children, Aymen, 8, and Amani, 7, are among the children reading to the cats at Lort Smith’s adoption centre, which runs the free Tales for Tails program with Hume Libraries.
Kumar said both her children were keen readers, devouring about 10 graphic novels each a week. However, she said the chance to read to cats and kittens offered something extra.
“I think this will build their confidence as readers,” she said. “They are not being judged or corrected, and it makes reading less of a chore and more of a pleasure.”
Amani reading to cats at Lort Smith animal shelter.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
It’s just what Hume Libraries’ Sarah Restuccia wants to hear.
Restuccia said reading aloud to animals can increase a child’s confidence, motivation and fluency as the audience is non-judgmental.
She said parents had reported their children were more relaxed reading to animals and that the experience had fostered a positive connection to reading even if some sessions ended up being more about playing with cats than reading to them.
“The main thing is that we want them to be positive about reading and if this is something that gets them there, then that’s great,” she said.
Credit: Matt Golding
Hume Libraries supply the books for the program, which is aimed at primary school-aged children. Almost all have animal themes. Among the popular titles are Dr Seuss’ classic Cat in the Hat, books from Dav Pilkey’s popular Dog Man series and books by Lynley Dodd – particularly those featuring a charming but cheeky black cat named Slinky Malinki.
Lort Smith adoption centre manager Mandy Doolan said while some children brought their favourite book from home, others arrived shy but soon warmed up with a borrowed book.
“If they’re not great readers, or they’ve picked a book that they’re not that confident with, sometimes I say to them, ‘Just sound it out or talk about what’s on the page’ and when they realise they can do that it makes a difference.
“It’s just great because you see kids blossom, but you also see some cats who might have shut down come out of their shell.
Aymen, 8, with the bookish kittens. Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
“It’s a win for the kids and a win for the cats.”
She said watching a cat’s personality emerge helped the adoption process because the centre could say with confidence which cats were comfortable with children. And the results aren’t always predictable.
“Sometimes the cats that you think might not be good with the kids are the ones who end up sitting on kids’ laps,” she said.
Most of the children who come to the 30-minute sessions don’t have pets at home, she said, either because a family member has an allergy or because the household doesn’t want the ongoing responsibility of looking after a pet.
Amani and the kittens at the animal shelter.Credit: Luis Ascui
Doolan said the Tales for Tails program, run for just five children at a time, allowed them to “get their fix”.
Kumar said her family currently just has pet fish. But she admits that that could soon change.
“They both really want a cat and all the books they like are based on animals,” she said.
“I guess this could be a bit of a ‘try before you buy’. They can get an idea of what it might be like to be around a cat. And it would be nice for them to have a cat as a companion.”
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