Note to Parents and Educators

The Reading Education Assistance Dogs®

(R.E.A.D.®) program was developed by the Inter-

mountain Therapy Animals (ITA) nonprofit or-

ganization “to improve the literacy skills of chil-

dren through the assistance of registered and in-

sured therapy teams as literacy mentors.”

The R.E.A.D.® program is built around the sim-

ple premise that dogs don’t judge, and thus when

kids read to a dog, they relax. Relaxed kids read

better. Experts have also found that when kids

have trouble paying attention, reading their les-

sons to a dog helps them better focus.

To learn more about the R.E.A.D.® program and

learn how you can bring this confidence-building

experience to more children, check out their web-

site http://www.therapyanimals.org/read/

index.php or give them a call at 801.272.3439.

Reading to My Buddy is assessed for US Grades

1 and 2 with a Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level In-

dex of 1.8. With a novel storyline about reading to

a dog, it is an inviting book for both beginner and

reluctant readers.

READING TO MY

BUDDY

Marti Regan

To Elizabeth Buteau and Bingley Rothwell, my patient

and photogenic human and dog models, respectively.

Thanks also to Charlotte Zinsser Booth, the Head of

North Branch School in Afton, VA, for allowing me to

take photographs in her classrooms. My appreciation

to Ailey and Baylan, who joined Elizabeth in a class-

room photo.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places,

and incidents are the product of the author’s imagi-nation. The photographs are representations of fic-

tional characters.

Copyright © 2011 Marti Regan

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 1461125782 ISBN-13: 978-1461125785

Contents

1. Never Talk Again 2

2. Meeting Buddy 9

3. Reading to Buddy 14

4. Back to Class 18

5. The Best Day Ever 22

1

2

“Mom, I’m not going to s-s-

school today! I HATE school. Please

let me s-s-stay home.”

Yesterday was the first day of

class. All day long seven-year-old

Nicki had trouble talking. She knew

what she wanted to say. The words

just got stuck on the way out of her

mouth. Reading out loud was the

1

Never Talk Again

3

worst. Some of the kids in her class

laughed at her. She felt like crying.

“Nicki, honey, don’t be silly.

You have to go to school,” her mom

said and started the car.

On the drive to school, Nicki

said to herself, I’ll just never talk

again. Then, no one can make fun of

me.

“Good morning, Nicki,” her

teacher said.

Nicki waved, smiled, and

walked to her desk.

“Hi, Nicki, want to hang out at

recess?” Anna asked.

4

Nicki nodded her head up and

down.

“Hey, Nicki, have you seen

Joe?” Josh asked.

Nicki shook her head from side

to side.

5

“Did you watch the Charlie

Brown special on TV last night?

Wasn’t it funny?” Kayla asked

Nicki.

6

Nicki gave her a thumbs-up

sign.

Hey, this no-talking is great!

Nicki thought. As long as I don’t talk,

everyone is nice to me.

“Okay, children, it’s time for

reading class,” her teacher said.

7

Uh, oh, Nicki said to herself.

“Nicki, please see me first,”

her teacher added.

Double uh, oh. Nicki walked

up to her teacher’s desk.

“Nicki, you have been selected

to read with Buddy. Please go to

the library.”

Nicki nodded. She wanted to

ask “Who is Buddy?” but that

would mean talking.

She walked slowly down the

long hall and peeked into the li-

brary. There was a DOG in the

room!

8

“Hi, there. You must be

Nicki,” said a woman holding the

dog’s leash. “I’m Mrs. Brown, and

this is Buddy, the reading dog.”

Dogs can’t read! Nicki almost

said out loud.

9

“Of course, Buddy can’t read.”

Mrs. Brown said. “But he is a great

listener.”

Nicki stared at Buddy.

Buddy tilted his head. He

perked his ears. He looked right at

her. His eyes twinkled. His tongue

fell out of the side of his mouth. He

was smiling!

2

Meeting Buddy

10

Nicki gave Buddy a pat. He felt

soft. Buddy wagged his tail.

“Buddy loves to have children

read to him. He doesn’t care how

slow or how fast you read. Would

you like to read to him?”

Hmm, Nicki thought. Reading

to a dog doesn’t really count as talk-

ing, does it?

“Could you pick out a book you

think Buddy might like?” Mrs.

Brown said.

Nicki went to the bookshelf.

Buddy followed her.

She picked out a story about a

woman who lived in a shoe. Buddy

turned his head away.

11

She picked out a story about a

talking cat. Buddy covered his eyes.

She picked out a story about a

rabbit.

“Woof, woof!” Buddy barked.

12

“Ha, Ha,” Nicki laughed out

loud.

Oops, she thought. Laughing

doesn’t count as talking, does it?

Buddy wiggled his tail. He

pushed the book with his nose.

13

“Okay, Buddy,” Nicki whis-

pered. “I’ll read this story just for

you.”

14

Nicki took Buddy’s paw and

moved it under each word as she

read.

“Once upon a time, there was

an en-ch-ch-ch …”

Nicki wanted to slam the book

shut. She looked at Buddy. Buddy

licked her hand.

3

Reading to Buddy

15

“Thanks, Buddy,” Nicki said.

She patted his head and hugged

him. She sighed.

16

“Once upon a time, there was

an en-chant-ed r-r-rabbit.”

Buddy tilted his head to the

side and stared up at Nicki.

Mrs. Brown said, “I don’t think

Buddy knows what the word

‘enchanted’ means.”

“Oh, don’t you understand,

Buddy? Well, the rabbit is … like a

magic b-b-bunny!”

Nicki read some more of the

book. Buddy didn’t mind when her

words got stuck. Buddy didn’t mind

when she read slowly. Buddy

smiled while she read.

“Hey, this is fun, Buddy.” she

said and kissed him on the nose.

17

“This is a good story. Maybe I

don’t hate reading.”

Buddy wagged his tail.

18

Mrs. Brown leaned over and

said, “Nicki, it’s time to go back to

your class now.”

Nicki shook her head from side

to side. She wanted to finish the

story. She wanted to stay with

Buddy.

“Did you like reading to

Buddy?” Mrs. Brown asked.

4

Back to Class

19

Nicki nodded her head up and

down.

“Tell your teacher that you

need to come back tomorrow,” Mrs.

Brown said. “Otherwise, Buddy

won’t know how the story ends.”

Nicki walked back to class.

“Welcome back, Nicki,” her

teacher said. “Tell me about your

visit with Buddy.”

Nicki looked up at her teacher

and thought, Uh, oh, if I don’t talk,

maybe I can’t read to Buddy tomor-

row.

“Nicki?” her teacher said.

No one knows I decided to

‘never talk’ again, so no one would

20

know if I decide to not ‘never talk’

again, would they? Nicki thought.

21

“Nicki, didn’t you like Buddy?”

her teacher asked. “You don’t have

to go back.”

Oh, no! Nicki thought. I really,

really want to see Buddy tomorrow.

Nikki bit her upper lip. She

took a deep breath. In her head,

she saw Buddy’s smiling face. She

felt Buddy rest his head in her lap.

She heard his soft “woof.”

“Nicki?” her teacher asked

again.

“I-I-I did like Buddy … lots

and lots!” Nikki quickly told her

teacher. “Did you know Buddy is a

d-d-dog?”

22

Anna overheard Nicki and said

“No way! You read to a dog?”

“Y-y-yes,” Nikki said.

Uh, oh, thought Nicki. Now

they’ll make fun of me for reading

to a dog.

Josh asked, “Did the dog un-

derstand you?”

5

The Best Day Ever

23

“Wow, that is so cool!” Anna

said. “I want to read to the dog to-

morrow.”

Nicki remembered what Mrs.

Brown had told her.

24

“Buddy wants m-m-me to read

to him. Mrs. Brown said I need to

come back tomorrow,” Nicki said.

“You are so lucky, Nicki,” Anna

said.

“Is Buddy the dog’s name?

What does he look like?” Josh

asked.

“What did you read to Buddy?”

Anna asked.

Lots of kids were coming over

to hear about the reading dog.

“Well, B-b-buddy is so

cute. He even s-s-smiles when I

read to him.” Nikki said. “He likes

stories about rabbits.”

25

The kids laughed, but not at

her.

“Do you think my dog would let

me read to her?” Josh said.

“Tell us some more about

Buddy,” Kayla asked.

Nicki felt happy inside.

I’m glad I decided to talk

again, she said to herself. This is

the best day ever. Thanks, Buddy!

THE END

26

About the Author

Marti Regan loves animals, and many

of her children’s books have animal

themes.

Her dog, Sadie, is a retired therapy

dog and reading partner. Marti (and

Sadie) live in the Blue Ridge mountains

of Virginia with her husband, cats and

horses.

Learn more about Marti and her books

at http://martiregan.com.