childhood memories

If I hadn't been of the type all my life, I would certainly attribute some of my recent sentimentality to aging.

I do cataloging work at a university library, so one wouldn't expect that I handle children's books. However, we have a nationally renown collection, The de Grummond Collection. For several weeks I have been working with a list of donated books, determining whether we already have these items in the collection and if so, how many copies, etc. It is, like most cataloging, a bit like solving puzzles. Every time that I get to put "copy 1" in the list, I get a little thrill. Then there are the moments when I stumble across titles that (or authors who) are near and dear to my heart and my memories!

This morning it is Frances Boyd Calhoun's Miss Minerva and William Green Hill. If the copy I'm checking on the list today is a first edition, it will be a "copy 1" for the collection! We have 7 other editions currently in the collection. I'm curious to check the family copy for publication date.

I may have first read this book one summer while visiting my grandparents, but I am not sure. I know that the copy we have was always considered my sister's book. (Lo, and behold! When I went to get a link for you about the book, I discovered it is available in PDF from Google Books -- and also from many other locations. That's the cover on our copy, too!)

Sigh. But I suppose it is very politically incorrect to have fond memories of such a book . . . speaking of books, my list of reading over there on the right is woefully out of date.