Hooray for books, in Hollywood

IT would be hard to find an organization or event crazier about books than Wonder of Reading and the not-for-profit organization’s first Explore-A-Story fundraiser. Everything about the four-hour event at ArcLight Cinemas this Sunday is themed around books, from the Green Eggs and Ham (burgers) to the costumed characters and movies, readings, crafts and live entertainment.

“We’re hoping kids will get really excited about something and say, ‘I want to read that story again,’ ” said Beth Michelson, Wonder of Reading’s executive director.

Designed for families with children ages 2 to 11, Explore-A-Story will use the entire ArcLight complex.

Craft workshops -- for striped cookies based on “A Bad Case of Stripes” and masks celebrating “Where the Wild Things Are” -- will take place indoors, as will the screenings of “Peter Pan,” “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events” and other book-inspired films.

Outdoors, costumed versions of Clifford the Big Red Dog, Dora the Explorer, Curious George and the pig from “If You Give a Pig a Pancake” will wander among food stalls, readings and signings. Henry Winkler, David Selby, David Shannon and Richard Perlmutter are among those who will appear.

Now in its 11th year, Wonder of Reading works with Southern California’s public elementary schools to renovate and restock their libraries and to mentor their students in reading. The organization has worked with 157 Los Angeles County schools so far, which translates into roughly one-third of the elementary schools in L.A. Unified.

Anyone wanting to make a donation to the group during the event can just wander up to the Giving Tree.

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Explore-A-Story:

A Celebration of Books

Where: ArcLight Cinemas, 8630 W. Sunset Blvd., L.A.

When: Sunday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Cost: $75 per person or $275 per family of four

Info: (310) 996-1188 or www.wonderofreading.org/355.htm