I always enjoy those short interviews with celebrities in magazines where one of the questions is: What book did you read last?

If someone asked me I would have to laugh and tell them: “The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar.”

OK, it may not be up there on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it sure is a hit with the kids.

That was the selection I read to some youngsters at Stey-Nevant Public Library on Tuesday during a special children’s night. It was even more special for me.

There is nothing more contagious than the enthusiasm of young boys and girls who are fascinated by life. To them, every turn of the page in the children’s book brought more enjoyment. And their interaction as I egged them on for responses to parts of the book was electrifying.

If we could only bottle that energy.

I’m sure many Herald readers who have raised kids or grandkids have read the book. It’s about a caterpillar that’s hatched from an egg, eats holes in everything in sight, finally builds a cocoon and emerges in the end as a beautiful butterfly.

In a way, I’m hoping for just as good a journey for these youngsters who hopefully will grow into wonderful adults. For some of them, it won’t be easy. They come from impoverished backgrounds.

But people like “Miss Margaret” Orchard at the library, certainly help steer them in the right direction.

As I see the City of Sharon and other areas cut funding for libraries, it’s a scary thing. These community libraries do a lot more than just provide books for people to read. The programs produced in many libraries, similar to Farrell, guide young people on the right paths in life.

I can tell you this: Anytime Miss Margaret calls for me to read — I’m there!

I’ve never really grown up myself, so I love being around kids. And I only hope that someday when they grow up and become “beautiful butterflies,” they will return to read to other children.

The great American writer Thomas Wolfe once said: “Man’s youth is a wondrous thing. It is so full of magic and anguish, he never comes to know it as it is until it’s gone from him forever.”

Reading is part of the magic for these children and can help them realize how special it can be, even at their young age.

ä Speaking of “beautiful butterflies,” practice is starting for the fifth annual “Senior Follies” which raise funds for the Shenango Valley Senior Center. The chorus practices at 6 p.m. each Monday at the center. Anyone 55 and older is invited to participate.