Photos by Juan Carlo / Star staff Desta Goehner reads to her daughters, 3-week-old Piper and Maya, 4, Thursday at the Camarillo Library. November is "Read Early, Read Aloud" month. First 5 Ventura County launched the campaign in Camarillo.

A few dozen children sat on the floor in the Camarillo Library on Thursday morning and watched a story unfold in front of them.

Performers from the Ventura Senior Readers' Theatre group were acting out a story about a determined little train as they read from the book. The sometimes boisterous crowd of young fans in the front row sat relatively still, riveted by the words.

November is Child Literacy Month, and First 5 Ventura County has joined with Ventura County libraries to urge parents to read aloud to their young children.

They kicked off the campaign at the Camarillo Library on Thursday, welcoming children and their parents.

"Today we're here to celebrate reading," said Claudia Harrison, First 5's executive director. "It's never too early to read to your child."

Each year, about 35 percent of U.S. children start kindergarten without language skills they need to learn to read, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Reading to a child can help develop those skills and cultivate a love of reading.

Events are scheduled throughout Ventura County this month as part of the "Read Early, Read Aloud" public awareness campaign, part of a regional effort that also includes First 5 commissions in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Imperial, San Bernardino, Kern, Riverside and San Diego counties.

Camarillo mother Desta Goehner brought her three children, all under 5, to Thursday's event. She has read to them every night, starting when they were about 4 months old. It helps them learn to read and "develop their imagination," Goehner said.

Her 4-year-old daughter, Maya, has started reading to her younger brother and sister, which helps them see that reading is cool, Goehner said.

Sometimes parents don't realize reading aloud to a child can help, Harrison said Thursday. Other times, families don't have access to books.

First 5 wants that to change, and Harrison hopes the next few months will make a difference.

Libraries throughout Ventura County are hosting reading events, including story times, performances and special guest readers. A book exchange will allow families to donate or take books from bins at Neighborhood for Learning centers and hospitals throughout the county.

A full list of events, a reading list and information about a Barnes & Noble book fair are available at www.first5ventura.org. For more information, call 211.