No books, no basketball: a Brooklyn program's "got game" to hook children on reading.

"Make literacy part of your game!" is a meaningful slogan in the hands of the Hall brothers Earl and Raymond, who founded Books and Basketball and serve as its codirectors. The six-week program started by their organization Red Hook Rise operates in Coffey Park in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

This program has gone from 75 children to 170 children. To participate, players must read before and after a game. Children also read during downtime when their team is waiting to play. If a child wants to participate in the program, they must bring their parents or guardians to register them. Participants usually attend two sessions a week, and organizers set rules that govern the children's behavior. Reading sessions must be quiet; children must be nondisruptive and they must participate. They also have to help each other to the level that they are capable of, and no one is allowed to ridicule.

Red Hook Rise is a 10-year-old, nonprofit, grassroots organization that has made a major difference in the neighborhood and the lives of many children who had little to do.

Books and Basketball builds on existing reading skills and strengthens the children's self-confidence.

"Lived the Same Struggle"

Books and Basketball was created to address the low literacy rates of the community. "Being guys who have lived through the same struggle that kids are going through now, we founded Red Hook Rise in 1994 to give back to the community that we love," says Earl Hall, a physical education teacher at Mary McDowell Center for Learning Disabilities.

"These kids are neglected, and this one particular neighborhood needs help!" says Raymond Hall, who is the head of security for Pier 41 Associates.

"Everything that Books and Basketball is trying to teach involves making children realize that 'you can make a difference.'" says Earl Hall. Both brothers are now married and have children of their own.

Most of Red Hook Rises earlier sports programs involved older children, but Books and Basketball is for younger children, ages 7 to 13. The teams are coed and balanced so that each team has a chance to win. The Police Athletic League Miccio Center on West 9th Street in Red Hook provides space for the colder months.

When the program first started, all of the readers were below average, but Books and Basketball is credited with helping push reading scores in neighborhood schools higher. Lori Bethea, the deputy director of the program, says proudly, "More importantly, time spent reading has increased."

This is a far cry from when Bethea watched as children signed up for sports programs and were unable to write their addresses or phone numbers on the application.

Bethea, a childhood friend of the Halls, is a private tutor of English and reading for children ages 7-13. She was working for Literacy Inc., a community organization that provides technical support for people organizing and creating their own literacy programs, when they came up with the idea of using sports to strengthen reading skills.

One of the points that this program drives home relentlessly is that "reading comes before anything else," she says. The books range in subject matter from basketball and other sports books to poems and short stories. There are six teams for ages 7 to 9, and eight teams of 10 to 13-year-olds. Fourteen- and 15-year-old kids serve as coaches and participate in peer tutoring.

Books read are tracked on a team-by-team basis. Each team works together to finish a book. Organizers keep notes on when the book was finished and how the team digested the book; asking who helped? Who read? Who has all-star reading potential?

All-Star Reading Day and Championship Day are special days of honor and joy for the children, who receive ribbons, certificates or medals. The events honor children for their reading skills as well as basketball skills. Parents play a big part in this program. When it started out, there were six parents and now there are 45 to 60 parents who come to meetings and workshops, help at events and serve as guest readers. Senior citizens also participate in an intergenerational reading project.

The Mary McDowell Center for Learning Disabilities provides the program with most of the books. The children of P.S.58 recently presented $400 in pennies to Books and Basketball for books and supplies.

Those wishing to participate, volunteer or send donations can contact [e-mail], [e-mail], Lbeth@re dhookrise.org or Red Hook Rise, 718-243-2933, www.redhookrise.org.

Beverly Shelton Sanchez, who lives in Brooklyn New York, is an entertainment reporter who also writes on children's issues.