Mary Coyle Chase

There is no perfect age to commence being a lover of books. It’s great whenever it happens. I think I can generalize about early book lovers in saying that the experience is so very intense.

Here’s a test.

Assuming you are over thirty, can you recollect your favorite books at age 19? 29? How about 9?

I can name my favorite books at age nine. I can even remember the exact shelves they lived on at the local library.

At the top of that list was Enid Blyton’s Adventure series, and Loretta Mason Potts...