BOOKS URGE ACTION FOR YOUNG READERS.

Byline: Cecilia Chan Staff Writer

In Jeff Lappin's world, a kid can be a mountain biker, a surfer, a snowboarder and even a martial artist.

The 35-year-old Oak Park resident has written his first two children's books, ``Marcel Moves Mountains'' and ``Simon Makes Waves,'' which are self-published and due to be released nationally on Aug. 27.

``The concept of my company is to take kids off the couch and back outside to enjoy the surroundings with their families,'' said Lappin, who formed Endurance Publications Inc. about a year ago. ``I do these sports and did some research and found there's one or two other kinds of books to do with these alternative sports that are mainstream now, and I said, I'm going to do the same and mine will be the best.''

That Lappin has been able to translate his love of sports into storybook form comes at a time when studies show children's fitness is on the decline.

The Cancer Research Foundation of America cites statistics showing that obesity rates increased 147 percent among children 6-11 from 1971-1994. It also found that a quarter of all American children spend at least four hours in front of the television and that 48 percent of girls and 26 percent of boys do not exercise regularly.

Lappin - who's had no formal training in writing and grew up on a diet of Hardy Boys and Louis L'Amour western tales - read a slew of children's books, then picked up his pen.

``It wasn't very hard. It came naturally,'' said Lappin, also developed a line of action toys to complement the books. ``I'm just a big kid.''

He spent two years penning the books, each 44 pages long and illustrated by Jeremy Madl. The books are aimed at 4- to 8-year-olds.

Lappin, who grew up in Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys, realized the value of exercise when, at 21, he was in a car crash that left him comatose, with broken bones.

``To get back to where I was before, these sports really helped me do that,'' said Lappin, who regularly rides 20 miles on his mountain bike and surfs along the Southern California coast. His three surfboards share space in his condo with his chocolate Labrador, Cody.

Although Lappin just received his shipment of books a month ago from Hong Kong, where they are published, they have already found a few fans.

``He did a very good job,'' said Sue Zussman, spokeswoman for Borders Books and Music in Thousand Oaks. ``What I liked about it for one thing, little kids want to be big kids and I thought the progression of the stories really lent themselves to little kids being big kids.''

Zussman also liked the facts and questions relating to the book's theme that are printed at the bottom of the pages, such as ``A boogie board is kind of like a soft and short surfboard,'' and ``Have you ever jumped into a pool? What was it like?''

``He had little questions that created conversation, which is wonderful,'' she said. ``I thought the questions were a great guide, not just for children but also to create a kind of jumping off point for discussion about things more applicable to children like, what different rides you've been on. Those are the little points I don't see that often in children's books.''

Although Borders corporate headquarters hasn't finalized anything yet with Lappin about stocking its shelves, Zussman said she has plans for Lappin to read his books at the Thousand Oaks store.

``It looks very attractive,'' said Las Virgenes library manager Raya Sagi, who has thumbed through the copies donated to the library. ``His idea of writing is very good, asking questions to children to make them briefly think about things.''

Lappin has published 5,000 copies of each book for $25,000 and formed his own company so he could market the books faster and maintain control. A 13-inch-tall companion cloth doll of the books' main character also can be purchased alone or as a set with the books.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Jeff Lappin's books are aimed at getting young readers off the couch.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer