‘READ ME A STORY’ : Libraries, and Even Some Bookstores, Offer Free Story Hours, Complete With Games, to Bolster Children’s Love of Books

You’re knee-deep in laundry, the phone’s ringing off the hook and the microwave has just turned the family meal into roofing tile. On cue, your preschooler attaches herself to your leg, gives you her winningest grin and pleads, “Mommmeeee, read me a story.”

How can you say no?

As any parent of young children knows, there are few things the sandbox set loves better than good story time. Kids seem to have an insatiable appetite for books--picture books, story books, peek-a-boo books, whatever. Give them a willing adult, a comfy seat and a pile of books (or maybe just one to be read over and over and over), and they’re happy campers.

Parents usually love to oblige, but when time runs short, help is just around the corner. Nearly every local library offers free story times for young children aged 3 and up, and so do a number children’s book stores. While parents browse among the shelves or run a quick errand, children can enjoy stories, games and creative play designed to bolster their love of books.

According to Lynn Eisenhut, coordinator of children’s services for the Orange County Public Library, a system that includes 27 county-run libraries, free preschool and kindergarten story hours are held most weekdays at nearly every branch in town. Morning sessions, generally open to 3- to 5-year-olds, include stories, finger play and simple games. After-school programs, geared to ages 5 and up, may feature craft projects or puppet shows that carry out the theme of that day’s story.

Several libraries also have evening or “p.j.” story times, which pajama-clad kids can attend with parents and their favorite stuffed toy. Some branches offer Spanish-language sessions. (General information: (714) 551-7159.)

At each site, the librarian is encouraged to choose titles that are at reading levels higher than those of the audience. “We want the children to know that as they learn to read, and as they read better, there are exciting things out there waiting for them,” Eisenhut explained. “It’s not very exciting to read ‘Run, Spot, Run.’ ”

Gayle Kaufman, children’s librarian for the Tustin Library (345 East Main St., Tustin, (714) 544-7725), has developed a collection of “sure-fire hits” for her Tuesday morning sessions, ranging from H.A. Ray’s timeless “Curious George” series to Leo Lionni’s “Alexander and the Wind-Up Mouse.” Summer sessions begin July 2.

Kaufman punches up her story times with plenty of dramatic style, providing crunchy eating noises, grumbly growls and other special effects whenever possible.

“This is very different from Mom or Dad curling up with the kids and reading a story,” said Kaufman, who generally attracts 30 to 60 children at each session. To set the mood, she prefaces each session with some creative play, inviting children to become a favorite animal or to “turn on their eyes, ears and imaginations” with a twist of an invisible key.

Kids also can get into the act at the Children’s Book Shoppe at 1831 Westcliff Drive in Newport Beach, where owner Joan Pizzo hosts story time for 3- and 4-year-olds each weekday morning, and sessions for children aged 5 and up on Saturday ((714) 675-1424). The free programs have been so well received that there are waiting lists for the weekday sessions, and Pizzo is thinking about adding an early evening program to accommodate working parents.

Pizzo, a former teacher, compares her weekday story times to a day at preschool. “The children listen to books, but they talk too. I ask them things about themselves: what they like to play with, what they did yesterday. Sometimes they’re shy at first, but after a while we develop this wonderful camaraderie and they can’t wait to talk. One mother told me it’s better than taking them to a psychologist.”

Pizzo, whose sessions include a mix of contemporary and classic children’s books, songs, rhymes and games, feels the lure of television is no threat to programs like hers.

“This is alive, personal,” she said. “We can stop a story and talk about anything we want to. We can look at the pictures and discuss colors and shapes. Television can’t do that. I used to wonder if TV was taking up too much of children’s time. But when the mothers bring them here, they’re in a whole other world. There’s nothing like a good story.”