CLEMSON — Calling all kids! And parents! As we near the end of 2008, more children are opting to watch a DVD instead of hear a bedtime story. Knocking off pop-up books and “Light Brights” are Nickelodeon and the Cartoon Network. While Leap Frog games and Playskool products are being marketed towards early learning, nothing can compare to letting the imagination explode as a story is read.

Read-a-Rama — a program started during the 2001 Maymester by Clemson professor Michelle Martin — takes aim at children and the fun they can have with books, while teaching her students at the same time.

“Mostly, I was thinking how I could give students some face time with kids and make good use of a Saturday,” she said.

Tonight will be the 14th Read-a-Rama that Martin and her students have hosted since its inception. The program will be from 6 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the Central-Clemson Library, and all are encouraged to come.

On average, Read-a-Rama is put on twice a semester. This fall, a “Children’s Literature” undergraduate class and an “Ethnicity and the Child” graduate section will be leading the journey through the Read-a-Rama jungle. This week’s program called Animalia, will be all about, well, animals.

From lions to lizards, the kids will get to vote on their favorite-themed books and have their Clemson friends read and act out every page. Prizes will be awarded for the child who presents the most interesting animal photo or the most artistic rendering of an animal.

With each program, a new theme, from science to sports, allows every group to get hands-on with crafts and experiments.

“It’s a lot of fun for each kid,” Martin said. “We have lots of children that return for the programs. I’ve had 3-year-olds come for picture books and are now 10, reading novels.”

For the university students who participate in Read-a-Rama, the service they provide isn’t only priceless, it gives them something intangible.

“I can’t express how rewarding this program is,” said Arthur Doctor, undergraduate. “The area I grew up in suffers from a serious lack of reading among small children.”

“I saw that first hand while I was living in Richmond, Va. and Charleston. I absolutely see myself providing a service like this outside of college,” he added.

And as Martin continues to make strides for the Read-a-Rama program, she hears from parents how appreciative they are of the service that’s been open to the young members of the community.

“They are mostly thankful that a program centers around books,” she said. “It’s easy to find stuff with computers, T.V. or movies.”

And it’s age appropriate too! For children from 3 to 10 years old, picture books will be presented, while the older kids will read and discuss “The House of a Million Pets,” by Ann Hodgeman.

“But if older kids want to sit in on the picture books, that’s totally fine as well,” Martin added.

Martin’s vision for Read-a-Rama was finding a place to celebrate literacy while making it “cool.”

“I’m all about it,” she said.

And for the first time, Read-a-Rama will be incorporating parents into the mix. A workshop will introduce them to creative ways to use picture books with their own children. These activities will encourage creative thinking, creative writing, vocabulary building and using books as springboards for family fun, Martin said.

It’s something that both Martin and her students hope to see continue and become more prevalent as time goes on. The students work diligently throughout the semester to come up with fun, fresh ideas to get the children interested, focused and motivated, all the while the program continues to grow.

But before the night wraps up and the kids (and parents) await the next Read-a-Rama, they get to leave with a free book.

“The looks on the children’s faces is the greatest thing,” Doctor said.