FOR THE KIDS : Diving Into Summer Reading : * Libraries throughout the county offer programs and prizes to inspire children of all ages. Sign-ups are already under way.

School is out. Kids have the long, hot summer ahead of them and lots of time.

Time to read.

If that prospect brings a ho-hum response from your kid, here’s a way to make reading fun--even cool. Libraries throughout the county offer summer reading programs that entice kids into reading by turning it into something of a game, with little prizes and stickers.

They’ve done it for years, using a different theme each summer. This year is not much different, despite severe budget cuts and the Jan. 17 earthquake, which heavily damaged one library.

At the county-run network of 15 libraries, it’s pirates and buried treasure this summer. Kids will find Captain Elias K. Bookaneer and his “odoriferous crew” up to no good.

At these libraries kids of any age, even adults, can sign up for “Dare the Depths With Captain Bookaneer.” They’ll get a folder with the crafty pirate captain on the front, holding up a “contract” to serve aboard the vessel H.M.S. Readaway.

Inside the folder is an underwater map with sea creatures and a buried treasure. For every five books they read, they’ll get a gold sticker for their map and find their way to the treasure.

If they read 15 books over the summer, they’ll get a T-shirt transfer. Those who reach 25 books will get a gold doubloon sticker with a ribbon for the front of their folders.

Preschoolers can be part of the program by having stories read to them. For the older kids reading chapter books, 50 pages equals a book. Treasure chests will be hidden at each of the libraries, and at the end of the summer those kids in the program will participate in a drawing for prizes.

During the summer the libraries will also have special story times, music, crafts and programs, such as a visit from a Channel Islands National Park ranger who might talk about pinnipeds and tide pools.

Last summer 6,000 kids joined in the reading program, according to Julie Albright of the county library’s children’s services division. That was down from the usual 8,000 or so because the county libraries cut their hours drastically last summer, she said.

The program started this week, but kids can sign up any time over the summer. It ends Aug. 14.

The Oxnard and Thousand Oaks libraries are not part of the county library system, but they are offering similar summer reading programs for kids called “Dive Into a Good Book,” which also has a treasure-chest theme.

At the Thousand Oaks Library, which was hit hard by the quake, the program runs from Monday to Aug. 14. Kids of all ages can sign up and get a folder at the library or at its branch in Newbury Park.

The books they have read are recorded on the back of the folder. Then, each week as they add books, they receive a prize and sticker to add to their folder. They also get a book bag to haul books and other treasures handed out during the program.

*

Thousand Oaks kids can also attend special story programs at the two libraries during the summer. At the main library, story time for kids ages 3 to 5 is on Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. or 1:30 p.m. beginning June 28, and for kids 6 to 10 it’s Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. beginning June 30. At the Newbury Park branch, story time for kids 3 to 5 is on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. beginning June 29, and for ages 6 to 10 it’s Thursdays at 10:30 a.m. beginning June 30.

This summer the Oxnard Public Library is changing from a summer reading program to a year-round program, broken into four sessions. The four-week summer quarter starts June 28. Kids keep track of the books they read on their treasure chest folder, and when they get it stamped each week by a librarian, they get a small prize. Also, each time they visit the library they fill out a form that will be entered in a drawing.

The Oxnard library has summer programs as well--everything from a magic show to a visit from a volunteer at the Maritime Museum in Oxnard. The programs at the main library and the two branches are all at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, beginning June 28.

At the Santa Paula Public Library this summer, dinosaurs are on the run. “Be a Readerosaurus” is the theme of the program there. Kids of all ages get a dinosaur folder in which they write down each book they read, and with each visit to the library they get stickers for their folder, bookmarks, buttons, bags or pencils.

The program kicks off Wednesday when the Alphabet Soup Puppeteers perform at the library at 2 p.m. It runs until the end of August. Throughout the summer, the library will have a special program for kids each Wednesday at 2 p.m. It might be face painting and puppeteers. Then, on July 5, Ronald McDonald makes a special visit to the library at 3 p.m.

Ventura County Life contributor Jane Hulse is a parent and knee-deep in kids activities. If you have any family news, send it to her at Ventura County Life, 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura 93003, or send faxes to 658-5576.

*

For information on the summer reading programs offered by libraries throughout Ventura County, call these numbers.

* County-run libraries: Avenue (Ventura), 643-6393; Camarillo, 482-1952; Fillmore, 524-3355; E.P. Foster (Ventura) 648-2715; Meiners Oaks, 646-4804; Moorpark, 529-0440; Oak Park, 818-889-2239; Oak View, 649-1523; Ojai 646-1639; Piru, 521-1753; Ray D. Prueter (Port Hueneme), 486-5460; Saticoy, 652-6295; Simi Valley, 526-1735; Soliz El Rio (Oxnard), 485-4515; H.P. Wright (Ventura), 642-0336; or children’s services, 652-7541.

* Oxnard Public Library: 385-7535; South Oxnard, 385-8129; and La Colonia, 385-8108.

* Thousand Oaks Library: 497-6282; Newbury Park, 498-2139.

* Santa Paula Public Library: 525-3615.