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Kids who read keep kitties cozy

By Paul Suarez
Published: November 10, 2010, 12:00am

What do cats, knitting and reading have in common?

They’re all favorites of Vancouver resident Stephanie Thompson. Four years ago, she found a way to connect her three interests by creating a program in partnership with Vintage Books and Kazoodles called “Read Me a Blanket.”

The program, which completed its fourth summer in September, encourages children to read throughout the summer and report their progress at Village Books or Kazoodles. Thompson or one of her many helpers will make a 17-by-8-inch blanket for every few books a child in the program reads.

No, they’re not for the kids. Blankets are then given to cats at the Humane Society for Southwest Washington. This year, Thompson and her cohorts hand-crafted 250 blankets, up from 35 the first year.

“It’s a twofer,” she said. But the main reason why Thompson started the program was to encourage reading, especially through the summer.

She hopes kids that already read will be motivated to read more. She’s had a few cases where kids who don’t like to read will pick up a book or two for the kitties.

“I’m a reader, and I feel so sorry when kids don’t know how to read or don’t enjoy it,” Thompson said. “No matter what they’re doing it for, it’s accomplishing a lot.”

The blankets are made to line boxes that new cat owners use to take their feline home. It can hopefully bring a little comfort for the cat in a new situation, Thompson said.

She’s still finessing the equation to reflect the book difficulty. In future years, she’ll probably require five or more picture books to be read for a blanket, while novels such as the Harry Potter series will rack up one or more blankets per read.

“Winnie the Pooh can only go so far,” she said.

She also provides little goodies such as bookmarks, erasers and notebooks to help children along the way.

Although she is able to spin a blanket or two during a one-hour episode of “CSI,” she recruited a MOMs club — a support group for stay-home mothers — from Camas and a Yacolt woman to help her fill the growing need for blankets.

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