By Kristi Spuhler for LitLovers
These days you never know what creature you might come face-to-face with in your local library. Many of us, it turns out, are meeting up with the furry canine variety. Woof.

Therapy Dog programs are popping up all over the place, aimed at encouraging struggling readers to find comfort—and pleasure—in reading aloud. The dogs provide a helping paw.

Snuggling up next to a canine buddy while reading is meant to help students build confidence in reading skills and generate enthusiasm rather than anxiety for library time.

One volunteer group, BARK, offers 20-minute sessions once a week for young readers to relax and practice. During a session, a child picks out a book and, after a few friendly pats for the furry pal, is all set to begin the story. It’s that simple.

A dog offers a friendly ear and no judgement. When students stumble over words in front of peers and teachers, it's intimidating. But dogs take the pressure off, letting young readers focus on the story and on improving their skills.

The results are remarkable. In a study conducted by Tufts University, second graders who read aloud to a canine companion over the summer months retained their reading skills more effectively than those paired with a human buddy.

Another study by UC Davis in 2010, according to BARK, suggests that kids in reading-to-dog programs improve their reading skills by at least 12% when compared to children not involved in these programs. A fuzzy ear and an encouraging nuzzle may be just what a struggling youngster needs!

Have any of you been involved in a program like this? Leave us a comment—we'd sure love to hear about it!

Imagine how it felt on a real ho-hum of a morning to open this missive from far-off Estonia, the beautiful country bordering the Baltic sea.

#1
Hello...I am an English teacher from Minnesota, living and teaching in Estonia, Europe. I am using your book-club questions to help my students discuss what they are reading for my "home-reading" assignments. Thank you so much—they have really helped my students get more out of their reading.

"So what are your students reading?" I write back. And the next morning...I get another email.

#2
My sixth graders have read some graded readers, Around the World in 80 Days, Last of the Mohicans, some sports books about soccer players and so on.

Older kids are interested in the pop literature of the day—the Divergent Series, Lord of the Rings, Hunger Games, The Fault in our Stars. Some kids read biographies or non-fiction as well. They do a mostly good job of summarizing what they have read, but then have difficulty discussing anything further—that is where your questions have really helped us out.

Who is this guy? I wonder. "Who are you," I write"... and what are you doing in Estonia?" His name is Parry...and next morning, I get a 3rd note!

#3
I teach at a private school in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. The school, or kool, is called Rocca al Mare ("rock by the sea") and it is right next to the Baltic Sea in a beautiful forest setting. I am from Minnesota but have been living in Estonia for almost 9 years. I have family here now and have no plans to return to the U.S. anytime soon.

Most of his kids, Parry writes, are quite fluent in English—speaking and writing with relative ease. It's an "A language," which means they begin learning it in first grade. They're also influenced by the Internet and TV—often inserting English words into sentences when speaking in Estonian. Or they'll take an American verb and "Estonianize" it.

Estonia is so small that language-learning is extremely important, says Parry, even in everyday life. Many people can speak 3, 4, even 5 languages, sometimes fluently. Starting in the 3rd grade, students can also choose a "B language"—French, German, Russian, or Spanish—and later can add a "C language," which at that point includes Finnish.

A favorite movie of mine, I tell him, is The Singing Revolution—how Estonia gained independence from the Soviets in 1991. They literally sung their way to freedom. It's a gripping, powerful story.

He knows the movie. "Estonians are very proud of how they won their independence that time. Summer 2014 is the next Summer Song Festival, which is held every four years; you might find videos of past song festivals under the title Laulupidu, which means song festival in Estonian."

Then he ends with..."Of course, Estonia's freedom is very fragile: it has never been free as a nation for any long period of time."

(Click on a cover to see the Reading Guide.)

Notice anything...oh, I dunno...funny? Check out some of 2014's "big" books so far. Clearly, somebody likes blue ... or is pretty sure the rest of us do.

Do you remember the scene in The Devil Wears Prada where boss Miranda chastises Andrea for mocking a popular color of blue? Miranda tells her the shade was chosen after intensive consumer research, followed by a high stakes marketing campaign—all to make women WANT-NEED-BUY that very color. In other words, consumers think we have free will...but we're simply being manipulated.

Is that what's going on with New York publishers (five different houses are represented here)? Is a conspiracy afoot in the literary world? Oh gracious. But then, again, maybe we're just paranoid. Wouldn't be the first time.

So what does blue evoke in YOU?

—By Kristi Spuhler for LitLovers—
The graphic novel has been fighting a tough battle. Many of us have been too quick to pass off panel comics in favor of traditional books, but in truth we may not know what we’re missing.

Breaking away from spandex-clad superheroes, graphic novels have taken on more serious subject matter—often diving into the realms of historical fiction and autobiographies.

Rich with complicated plot lines and well-developed characters, graphic novels take the art of storytelling in a completely new direction. By incorporating poignant images with well-crafted prose, graphic novels break down slow-moving descriptions into swift actions.

Caught your attention yet? Just in case, take a look at the list we’ve compiled—some of the best stories to ease you into the world of speech bubbles!

Graphic Novels

	Watchmen - Alan Moore, Dave Gibbons The only graphic novel that has been included on the NY Times 100 Best Novels List, Watchmen follows a group of retired superheroes through 1985 America as they try to uncover a plot to kill and discredit all past and present superheroes
	Persepolis - Marjane Satrapi This autobiographical graphic novel follows the author through her childhood and early adult years in Iran during and after the Islamic Revolution. In 2010, Newsweek ranked Persepolis #5 on its list of the top 10 books of the decade.
	Maus - Art Spiegleman This graphic novel, penned by the popular contributing illustrator of the New Yorker, depicts the author interviewing his father, a Polish Jew, about his experiences during the Holocaust.
	The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes - Neil Gaiman, Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg This dark fantasy follows Dream (aka Morpheus) on his quest to find his three magical objects of power after a wrongful 70 year imprisonment at the hands of an evil magician.
	Scott Pilgrim - Bryan Lee O’Malley The title character of this spunky graphic novel is in love—but there are complications. The story follows Scott through a video game-inspired landscape as he battles to defeat his girlfriend’s seven evil exes.
	The Walking Dead - Robert Kirkman, Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn, Tony Moore After being shot in the line of duty, Rick Grimes wakes from a coma to discover that his town has been overrun with walking corpses. The story follows Rick and a group of fellow survivors as they struggle against the odds in a post-apocalyptic world.
	V For Vendetta - Alan Moore, David Lloyd Simply put, the titular character, V, seeks vengeance for those in a corrupt government who have wronged him.

Here's the challenge—pick one of these graphic novels (or any other). Give it a try, and let us know what you think. Tell us which novel...and your thoughts. We'd love to hear back.