Anyway, one of the women on the list stirred a memory of mine when she mentioned how much she'd loved the book The Tattooed Potato when she was a child. This book was a particular favorite of mine as well, and one I hadn't thought about in many years until I got the job at the library. I loved the idea of a young lady artist, so independent, living in the big city and becoming involved in mysteries. My youthful romantic leanings saw love blossoming between the main characters, where of course there was none; the way the hero rescued the young lass from mortal danger at the end of the book nearly made me swoon with delight. Years later, I still recall every word to the nursery rhyme Oranges and Lemons from the way it served as a refrain throughout the story.

Walking through the stacks during that first week, I spent much of my time searching for my old favorites, beginning with The Tattooed Potato. Sadly, it was not among the books on the shelf. I searched the online catalog of our main book distributor and found that it was out of print and therefore not available to me at all. Unless I can find a used bookstore copy of it, my children will never get to read the adventures of Dickory Dock.

Gone, too, are most of the adventures of Alvin Fernald. Alvin was one of my biggest heroes as I grew up; I, too, envisioned myself becoming an inventor, though I lacked the engineering skills to bring any of my ideas into being. Many years later, in college, I took a class called "Creativity and Discovery", wherein Dr. Couch forced me to overcome those inhibitions and worries over skill level and just plunge ahead confidently in the creation of my projects. Thanks to Dr. Couch, Alvin was once again peeking over my shoulder, encouraging me toward wilder and wilder ends.

Alas, Alvin is no more. He's disappeared along with the child hero of another much loved book whose title has escaped me for many years now and which I was unable to locate even with the added resources of a librarian - the story of a young man on a class trip to the city who brings along a briefcase of jam jars, and who uses that jam to embark upon a short-lived career as a highly successful entrepreneur. (If this plot rings a bell with anybody, please let me know!) Old childhood friends are vanishing into the distance, leaving me behind, struggling to recapture their brilliance in time for my son to know them. Many wonderful books remain, to be sure, but the old friends remain so long in my head for good reason.

At least I still have my old copy of Anna to the Infinite Power back at home. Never leave me, Anna - you or any of your clones.

Mom liked to keep very close tabs on what I read as a child. One of my cousins was a few years older than me, and her father would often give my mother words of advice about what books were "inappropriate" for me. As a result, Judy Blume was off the table, among others. Naturally, this didn't stop me from reading about Margaret; it only prevented me from being able to discuss it with my mother. Not the best of situations, especially for an already strained relationship, such as ours.

In later years, I was much more inclined to openly try to press my mother's hot buttons. I would come home from the library with biographies of famous serial killers, retiring to my room to play loud heavy metal music (which I didn't even particularly enjoy) and thumb through the pages, happily imagining my mother's wrinkled, worried brow. Ah, childhood bliss.

My own present situation is complicated by the fact that I know firsthand just how difficult it can be to get many little boys to enjoy reading. I don't want to shoot myself in the foot by eliminating potential candidates from consideration right off the mark. What Sam picks up to read, I intend to encourage. Perhaps I can use those titles as jump-off points, even if I don't enjoy them myself. Anything, so long as he's reading.

Perhaps I'll have a "Family Book Night" yet. Of course, when Eric tries to summarize whatever computer programming manual has recently captured his fancy, I'm likely to have to enter "smile and nod" mode. It will be well worth it.