The Callander Public Library has some new additions to its Decodable Books Collection, thanks to a grant from the International Dyslexia Association of Ontario. These books are unique as each is designed to help emerging and dyslexic readers improve their skills.
People with dyslexia often have difficulty with breaking words into their component sounds and matching those sounds to letter combinations, explained the International Dyslexia Association of Ontario (IDAO) on its website.
As such, different tactics are required when learning to read, and these new readers provide that. The books are not cheap – often a couple hundred dollars for a set – but the IDAO gave the library $500 to purchase the new books. This is the second time the IDAO has given funds to the library for similar materials.
“We could not purchase them without the grant,” emphasized Melissa Sones, the library’s CEO. “We wouldn’t be able to put that much of our book budget towards it,” she added, and the staff are grateful for the donation.
The library already had a set of decodable books for younger kids, and one set in French as well. This new set is aimed at older youths. The books added to the collection are from Flyleaf Publishing and Phonic Books, two publishers specializing in books for beginner and struggling readers.
The library does not have any sets specifically designed for adults, but adults can always take these out and work through the lessons. There is a demand for these readers, they’re very popular Sones noted. “Although these are very beneficial for people who do have dyslexia, anyone learning to read can benefit from using this system.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
