That'll Be One SLP to Go

Suitcase
Originally uploaded by Lasse C

A few days ago I saw a young father, looking very dejected and confused, wandering in the juvenile fiction section of our library. I asked if he needed help and he explained he wanted an AR book for his son. The young father had no idea about AR books, what they are, or how to find them. Yes, the teacher had given him a paper about AR books at some point, no, he had no idea where the paper was, and he could not remember anything about the testing or how to choose books.

Turns out the young father was divorced and was sharing custody with another parent. He seemed sincerely interested in learning how to help his son with reading but had no idea where to begin. He looked much more confident and relaxed after we searched the AR site our area schools use and perused our collection for the books his son might enjoy.

Before he left, the young father expressed his concern over the loss of reading skills over the summer months. I was excited to step up to the opportunity to let him in on the A-M-A-Z-I-N-G summer library program to support that very concern! Alas, the son was going to be with his mother over the summer. Dad did not seem to think there was a chance in you-know-where that the boy's mother would be taking him to any libraries over the summer.

This May I am going to put together some SLP's to go. My hope is that this humble offering will allow a young father the chance to offer his son the gift of books and the incentive to enjoy learning to read them, even in his absence.