At used bookstores I always browse the childrens’ books section to see if any old memories pop out at me. I’ve found many almost forgotten treasures: Emil and the Detectives, the Mushroom Planet books, Pippi Longstocking. But I realized that they keep publishing books for children. They didn’t stop when my childhood ended. How obvious! But when I browse I wasn’t browsing to see what was new. I was looking for old. However, there’s a gap between when I stopped reading those books and when my future children will read. So my kids may benefit from my paying attention to what I’ve missed in the interim. Of course, browsing at the library, which filled many of my childhood hours, will probably fill in any holes. There’s got to be something more substantial than those silly “Babysitter’s Club” series and less hyped than Mr. Potter.