Storytime on the Radio With Mrs. Bush, Friends : Children: The First Lady will lead the reading for 10 half-hour programs that begin airing Sunday on KABC-AM.

Librarian Linda Katz and teacher Marcia Moon had a simple request for First Lady Barbara Bush, similar to the one that countless children make of their parents: “Read us a story.”

Much to their surprise, the President’s wife gladly obliged. In fact, she agreed to read several stories for Katz, Moon and a national radio audience.

“The White House gets 3 zillion proposals a day and we knew that,” Moon said. “But we both really felt that she’d be a natural. Knowing her background in literacy and her stance on family, and knowing her ability to communicate with people so easily, this really seemed right.”

Katz and Moon--who run the nonprofit Children’s Literacy Initiative in Philadelphia--persuaded the First Lady to participate in a series, which they co-produced with ABC Radio, entitled “Mrs. Bush’s Storytime.” It’s a collection of 10 half-hour programs that begin airing Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on KABC-AM (790).

The programs consist of Bush reading stories, interacting with storybook characters and giving tips to parents on how to use books to promote their children’s creativity and powers of communication.

A sample:

Winnie the Pooh: Oh, hello, Mrs. Bush. I was just thinking, you know what would go perfect with some honey right now?

Bush: Let me guess, Pooh Bear. A story?

Pooh: Oh, that’s just what I was thinking. You must be very smart to have guessed. Would you read me a story, please?

Bush: Of course, Pooh. I’d love to read you a story. I found some stories that I think you and all our friends listening in will love to hear.

She launches into the whimsical tale of “Corduroy,” by Don Freeman.

As she reads, Bush asks Pooh what he thinks might happen next and what he might do in a similar situation.

After finishing the story, she resumes her dialogue with Pooh.

Bush: We’ve certainly enjoyed good books today. The really good books have humor, original art, memorable characters. . . . Now Pooh, is there something special you like to look for in a story?

Pooh: Besides honey? I like it when Christopher Robin tells stories about bears like me.

Bush: You see, parents, another important quality found in good children’s literature is that it often deals with what’s important to children. Parents can also tell if they’ve found a good book if they enjoy reading it as much as their children enjoy listening to it.

“She has a beautiful voice,” Katz said. “She reads with expression and has a great sense of humor. If there’s a song, she sings it. She is much more theatrical than we were expecting.”

“It was clear that this was somebody for whom reading to kids is something she’s done all her life,” Jim Farley, executive producer, said. “There were very few second takes on anything. She’s a real pro.”

The show also includes readings done by such other famous folks as Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Mel Gibson, Peter Jennings, Reba McIntire, Tony Danza, Whitney Houston, Judd Hirsch, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. President Bush even lends his voice for a story called “Arthur Meets the President.”

“We’re trying to hook as many people as possible,” Moon said. “Our favorite part is having Mrs. Bush read the tips so there’s practical advice on how to choose books and how to use books. Most people read a book and close it and say, ‘Did you like it?’ I mean, what are they (the kids) going to say? Yes or no. But she asks open-ended questions like, ‘What would you do here?’ It gets their creative powers moving along.”

Over the past few years, Katz and Moon have been using their own creative powers to spread the word about reading to increasingly larger audiences, holding yearly book fairs that draw thousands and working on the Pennsylvania state council on literacy. It is their firmly held belief that children whose parents read to them in their preschool years will be much more successful in school than those whose parents did not.

“One out of two children entering kindergarten in urban areas are labeled ‘at risk’ educationally,” Moon said. “It’s because they don’t have vocabulary. That’s why we’re saying you have to get kids while they’re young. The first five years are so critical.”

The pair chose radio as the medium to convey their message because it is processed by the same part of the brain--the left side--as reading.

“Reading a book and hearing a story on the radio is the same mental process,” Katz said. “There’s the same idea of imagining, the same comfort of hearing a voice and being able to embellish.”

ABC Radio’s Farley admits that the program is not one to which station executives initially flocked. This is actually the series’ second season. The first wasn’t picked up in Southern California--or in a lot of other places.

“Radio stations initially resisted,” Farley said. “They don’t do children’s programming because people under 12 don’t count in the ratings. The first year only a few tried it, mostly those in small markets.”

But this year about 200 stations, including nearly all of the ABC affiliates in big cities, are broadcasting the series, Farley said, spurred by the reaction to the first batch of programs.

KABC General Manager George Green isn’t expecting big ratings, but he maintains that there are more important goals to be gained.

“I don’t think we’re going to get a whole lot of listeners out of it, but I think it’s symbolic,” said Green, who trained to be a teacher. “I happen to believe very strongly in reading to children. And I think it shows the community that there are some people in this world that care a little more about things other than sleaze.”