The Associated Press

There are many ways to learn to read - singing, pretending, acting, drawing and storytelling, among them, says Charlotte Brantley, co-director of the PBS Kids' Share a Story program.

There are so many book-based reading and literacy campaigns out there - "the whole country seems to know that kids need to know how to read to be successful, which is great," Brantley says - that PBS decided to focus on families who might not normally pick up a book. Share A Story encourages caregivers to shower children with words.

"We wanted to plant the idea that anyone, regardless of their own reading ability or if they like to read or not, can help a child read," says Brantley. "By immersing a child in words, learning vocabulary, sounds, rhymes - which will help kids spell and recognize words - they'll be learning to read."

Illustrating a story, for example, can help with sequencing and comprehension, while storytelling might be an opportunity for children to learn about historical or cultural customs, says Brantley, who also is the senior director of PBS' Ready To Learn Television service.

The Share a Story effort is ideal for the summer because it can be done on the go, when the children are in the back seat of the car or while waiting in a line, notes Brantley. "It's a portable campaign. You don't need any materials, You carry it around in your brain and mouth."