BRISTOL — A group of 42 boys at Newfound Lake’s Camp Mayhew was captivated by Marty Kelley, who stood before them Sunday night telling a story from a book he had just read as if it were an experience of his own.

Kelley, 41, of New Boston, is a former elementary school teacher who is now an author, illustrator, and a veteran storyteller who tells stories to students at schools and summer programs throughout the state in an effort to get more kids to read.

At Camp Mayhew, he told the story of a cranky old lady who scares her young children. His storytelling proved effective, drawing attentive eyes and ears, and laughs and cheers from his audience.

Before the event, he explained that he takes stories from books and personalizes them in order to get kids interested in reading traditional paper books.

“I basically am lying to them, telling them the story as if it were true, and then I tell them about the book the story came from,” Kelley said as he laid out dozens of books on camp tables.

The tactic seems to work, Kelley said.

At a time when books are seemingly less popular than the Internet and book-reading devices, and childrens’ book publishers are shrinking print content because of a perceived drop in childrens’ attention spans, Kelley brings kids attention-grabbing picture books, sports books and novels that they can take home.

The books are donated by the Children’s Literacy Foundation, which aims to inspire a love of reading and writing among low-income, at-risk, and rural children in New Hampshire and Vermont.

“I suspect children are reading less,” he said.

“A lot of publishers are shrinking their word count from 1,500 words to 700 words or so to feed into shorter attention spans, and a lot of homes don’t have books like they used to, so kids don’t always have access to them.”

Camp Mayhew yearly hosts 84 at-risk boys ages 10-12 from all over the state on Mayhew Island in Newfound Lake.

While at the camp, boys play sports, hike, canoe, and do lots of other fun activities aimed at building their self-esteem before they become teenagers, said Mayhew Program Director Gregory Stoetzenberger of Sullivan.

The boys are not allowed any modern electronic entertainment options. No Internet, television, or video games are permitted in their cabins.

But, with the help of Kelley and the literacy foundation, their attention is drawn to books, which they can read at their bunks and take home with them.

Kelley, who has written and illustrated eight children’s books of his own, including his most recent work, “Fame, Fortune, and the Bran Muffin of Doom,” said he thinks children will continue to read traditional paper books if they have easy access to them.

“I have hope,” he said. “I think kids will continue to read these books if we can just get them in their hands.”

dseufert@newstote.com