Rover the Reading Dog

words and music by John Keenan and Jo-Anne Wilson Keenan
© 2014 John Keenan and Jo-Anne Wilson Keenan
reprinted by permission from their Literacy Songs for Little Ones Songbook

This song is about a dog that visits care centers, classrooms, and libraries to motivate children to read. Individual children take turns reading to the dog. The dog provides each child with a nonjudgmental listener and builds the child’s confidence as a reader. Reading dogs exist in real life. They and their handlers must be trained through an organization such as Therapy Dogs Inter­national. John and Jo-Anne have also written “Readin’ to Rosie,” about a reading dog who is Rover’s sister.