Good question. And I'm not completely sure of the answer. However, I do have incredibly strong memories of reading and re-reading a book from my grammar school library - The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet.

My beloved father told me when I was a teenager that I would never be able to read all the books I wanted to. I said, of course I will. But it still hurts to this day, as of course he was right.

Jeff, I remember the Mushroom Planet! And Follow My Lead and The Secret Language and Diamond in the Window. It wasn't one book in particular that sealed it for me, but realizing the sheer amount of books that consumed me as a child. I had thought they were a scarcity. My grammar school library limited us to two books a week. The bookmobile came every two weeks and my mother, a new driver, never could find the public library. Seeing all those wonderful books listed on the order form was what did it for me. Now, of course, that joy is sometimes a curse when I stand in the middle of my favorite book store and realize I will never read all of these books. But I keep trying.

What might be more interesting is the role of public libraries in readers' lives. And librarians. I remain a card carrying library user, and am grateful for the honour to have and use this essential tool for life.

One of the greatest days in my life was when I went from elementary school to junior high school. 6th graders could only check out 3 books at a time at our local library, but once you hit 7th grade, you could check out 10 books at a time! Wow! And I did check out 10 books at a time, read them all, and got 10 more (usually on my bicycle, which had a basket on the back). I'm happy to report that both my daughter (now 36) and her children (9 & 13) are both big readers too. Children definitely learn by example. Both my parents and my older sister always read a lot, so naturally I followed suit. My daughter and grandkids are doing the same. Kudos to all librarians!

By no means my first, but one of the better examples of book magic I recall was discovering a cheap paperback volume of H.P. Lovecraft tales in high school... In spite of his rather stilted and affected writing style, the stories actually got to me to the point of taking out a New England map to see if such places as Arkham and Dunwich really existed. The book was immediately borrowed by a born-again friend of mine, who got halfway thru it, decided the Devil was in it, and shredded it-I had to threaten Clockwork Orange retaliation in order to get my buck twenty-five back...

I remember those orange biographies and loved them back in the 60's, but my first favorite books were the Box Car Children. My grandmother got me a set in the second grade.

I remember being sick at home in elementary school sometime and having read all my books except the ones my mother had picked out--yuck!--from the library for me. Thanks mom, for Caddie Woodlawn. A little later--7th grade--I remember reading Jane Eyre and it FINALLY got interesting and I remember kind of "waking up" and realizing that everyone else had left the room at the bell. Michele