BOOKS : Libraries Challenging Everyone to a Summer of Rigorous Reading

Here’s a question for kids: Can you survive Camp Readamucha?

That’s the name of the reading program for kids this summer at public libraries around the county. All it takes to survive is the will to open a few books and read them.

Actually, it’s more than a few. It’s 25. Hence, the challenge. But the libraries are prepared to give little readers incentives along the way.

The program kicks off Monday at all 16 branches of the Ventura County Library Services Agency. It runs through August, and it’s not really just for kids. Parents, or anyone, can do it too.

Here’s how it works. After you read one book, the library will give you a big folder that charts a hapless bear’s journey to Camp Readamucha. Along the way, he runs into trouble--for example, quicksand, a downpour, a snake, poison oak, and even a vulture.

For each book read, a librarian will stamp a circle along the trail. After five, 10, 15, and 25 books, the librarian hands out a sticker for the folder showing the bear studying a map or reading a book in his tent.

After 15 books, the readers also get an iron-on T-shirt transfer of the Camp Readamucha bear. And, after 25 books, the prize of prizes: a ribbon that says, “It was a bear, but I survived Camp Readamucha.”

The county libraries have been doing summer reading programs for many years, using a different theme each year. Last summer, 8,000 kids around the county took the reading challenge. Reading 25 books sounds daunting, but not for some.

“We have kids who do it all,” said Julie Albright, a library technician in the children’s division of the library agency. “The majority read up to 15.”

For older kids who are reading thicker chapter books, the library gives them a break. Depending on the library, if they read a chapter or a certain number of pages, they will get a stamp. Little kids, not yet into reading themselves, can get the same credit if someone reads to them. When kids sign up for the program, the local library puts their name on a paw print that is displayed on the wall with other readers’ names.

Last year, the libraries kicked off the summer reading program with puppet shows at all branches. Not this year. There just wasn’t enough money, Albright said. The reading program costs $5,000, and even that was threatened this year because of dwindling funds, she said.

“We had to fight for it this year,” Albright said. Next summer, the libraries may try to find sponsors to pick up the tab.

The public libraries in Oxnard and Thousand Oaks are not part of the county system, but they also have summer reading programs for kids.

In Oxnard, the program kicks off June 19 with performances by storyteller Merrick Hamer. The shows are at 11 a.m. at the south Oxnard branch and 1:30 p.m. at the main library on 251 S. A St.

The reading program, which has a theatrical theme, is called “Starring Library Kids.” Participants’ names are on stars on the wall. Readers are asked to read 10 books during the summer. They get small prizes and their names are entered in a drawing, which will be held when the program ends July 31.

During the summer, the main library will have special programs for kids on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. These range from a magic show to an origami demonstration. (The south branch will also have the programs at varying times.) For information, call 385-7500.

The Thousand Oaks Library has the same theatrical theme for its reading program, which begins June 21. There, the goal is to read at least one book a week.

The main library in Thousand Oaks and its branch library in Newbury Park also have scheduled weekly programs for kids running July 5 through Aug. 12.

At the main library, the program for 3- to 5-year-olds is Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m.; for 6 to 10-year-olds, it’s Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. At Newbury Park, the younger children attend on Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m., and the older ones on Mondays at 1 p.m. For information, call 497-6282.

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If your interest is in hearing stories, rather than reading them, performers from We Tell Stories are performing in Thousand Oaks next Thursday. This is for kids 5 and older. The show, entitled “Let Them Eat Books,” touches on the work of greats like Mark Twain, James Thurber, and Aesop.

The group will be at the main library in Thousand Oaks at 4 p.m., and at the Newbury Park branch at 7 p.m. Neither tickets nor library cards are required to attend. For information, call 497-6282.

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It seems we have a summer camp for all interests--computer camp, tennis camp, surfing camp. For the last five years, kids who are into music have headed for band camp in Thousand Oaks.

The camp is for kids in grades five through eight who are fairly serious about music and have been playing for at least nine months. It meets Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to noon.

Two summer sessions are offered, July 5-23 and July 26-Aug. 13. The cost is $245 per session. Sponsored by the Arts Council of the Conejo Valley and the Conejo Valley Recreation and Park District, the camp is held at the Arts Council Cultural Center, 482 Greenmeadow Drive.

The camp is taught by Janine Delwarte, who teaches music at three public schools but dabbles in other musical pursuits. She is in St. Louis now serving as the musical director for “Circus Flora,” the re-creation--complete with live orchestra--of a 1950s circus.

During band camp, Delwarte brings in guest musicians and touches on harmony and composition. The music floating out of the center could be anything from a flute trio to jazz or popular stuff. At the end, the kids perform for parents.

What’s the most popular instrument at band camp? Would you believe the saxophone? That’s all right with Delwarte, that’s her favorite too.

For camp information, call 499-4355.

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For information about Camp Readamucha, the summer reading program sponsored by the Ventura County Library Services Agency, call your local library, or the agency’s children’s division, 652-7540.