The children are our future? A concept that distresses me slightly less now.

It's me! I'm alive! I've been recovering from Massive Editing Project Syndrome, but full recovery is pending completion of said massive editing project. My recreational reading has taken a hit in the process, and that means I really haven't had much of bookish relevance to tell you about.

But Sunday, the husband and I and some friends volunteered at a book fair. We were manning the elementary/young adult books . . . which is to say, we were shoving our favorite books into children's bags when they weren't looking.

Did you know that when you let kids loose in a room full of books and tell them they can each pick 10, ACTUAL magic happens?

I confess, my expectations were low. The L.A. County public school system is not known for fostering a love of reading. In fact, kids don't generally start taking English classes until well into high school. Add to that the fact that the majority of these kids speak Spanish at home and all the books available at the event were printed in English. But none of that seemed to matter at all.

Some highlights:

• The chubby little boy who discreetly tucked two High School Musical chapter books into his bag, after his older sister passed them over with a scoff.

• The 5-year-old boy who crawled under the table and grinned mischievously at me while shoving a book about snakes and lizards into his bag, AFTER his mom told him three times that he couldn't have it.

• The little girl who lit up when I added Misty of Chincoteague to her small, horse-themed stack (and then taught her how to pronounce it).

• The girl I bullied into taking two books from the Redwall series. THERE IS A BADGER DRESSED AS A MONK. WHAT ELSE DO YOU NEED TO KNOW, LITTLE GIRL?

• Husband nonchalantly sliding a choose-your-own-adventure book into his back pocket. (Don't worry. He was allowed.)

• Not a single Twilight book in sight.

And look at Camden holding this book I bought him before he was born!

I'M ON A ROLL!