Children connect with stories through theatrics Holmdel bookstore employee inspires early interest in books BY TAMMY MCKILLIP Correspondent TAMMY MCKILLIP Dee Sockol-Frye (standing) encourages a group of toddlers to participate in the storytelling group at the Holmdel Barnes & Noble on Jan. 12. HOLMDEL - Friday mornings are "hopping" at the Route 35 Barnes & Noble. Each week at 10:30 a.m., dozens of preschoolers take the stage to sing, skip, hop and dance their way through stories. "They love it," said Suzanne Fanning, of Union Beach, who is the grandmother of 3-year-old Jack and 2-year-old Makenzie and was attending the storytelling event for the first time. "I have the kids on Fridays, and we'll be coming back every week." Matawan nanny Betty Lynn Pellett said she has been bringing her 2-year-old charge, Garrett, to the free reading program for the past eight months. "This is a wonderful program," she said. "The kids like to get up on the stage and play and sing, and they get so involved." And being involved, said children's department manager and storyteller Dee Sockol-Frye, will help them remember the stories they hear, and, hopefully, develop a love of reading. "When they like a story, they want to hear it over and over and over again," she said. "Barnes & Noble has storytelling times at all of our locations, but when I found out that we had a lot of young preschoolers attending ours, I started gearing it more toward the younger kids. The toddlers really love it." Pellett, who has been in the bookselling business for over 30 years, used to own her own bookstores in Cranbury and Matawan. But unlike Meg Ryan's character in the movie "You've Got Mail," whose Little Shop Around the Corner gets gobbled up by the fictional Barnes & Noble-like megalith, she said she is happy with the way things turned out for her. "It's a lot of work to have your own shop," she said. "It's a lot easier to work for somebody else, and I love working for Barnes & Noble." She said the preschool storytelling program she began four years ago in Holmdel has become so popular that the store is planning to add a Tuesday morning session in February. She hopes the children will be inspired to read more as a result of their early exposure to stories and said that sharing the experience with other kids their age may form a lasting impression. "What was your favorite childhood story?" she asked. "Why do you remember it now? Maybe it's because you shared it with somebody. When you share stories, it encourages that love of reading. That's what we're hoping to do here." The Holmdel Barnes & Noble is located at 2134 Route 35. For more information on preschool storytime, call (732) 275-0620.