Haseltine Library, located in the Greenwood Laboratory School, received funding from the Greenwood Parent Association to purchase over a dozen new Playaway audiobooks. The Playaway brand is a portable device that allows the user to listen to the story by plugging in their own earphones or by using an auxiliary cable to connect the Playaway to a car or home stereo system.

The items purchased include children’s titles from the popular series Wings of Fire and Keeper of the Lost Cities. Haseltine Library is expanding the audiobook collection because being able to hear the story can expose the listener to new vocabulary, as well as strengthen comprehension skills, especially for children with reading difficulties.

Before these new additions, Haseltine had only 40 audiobooks, according to Dea Borneman, Professor of Library Science at Missouri State University. The books arrived last month on Valentine’s Day. 

“They were a sweet treat,” Borneman said.