Selma Levi, the chief and guiding spirit of the Pratt Central Library children's department, has a reputation as an artful negotiator who can lure young readers to more interesting and challenging works after assessing the books they say they love. A 20-year veteran at the Pratt, Levi has an encyclopedic knowledge of children's literature and respect from her peers that made her a judge for the prestigious Newbery Medal. Here, she offers a sampling of books that have sparked her imagination as a reader over the years:

"The Duchess Bakes a Cake" / by Virginia Kahl / Purple House Press / 32 pages / $17.95 (available at Pratt)

This is an entirely silly story but my first taste of "lovely light luscious" language. I've been addicted to the sounds that words make in my head ever since.

"A Tale of Two Cities" / by Charles Dickens / Penguin Classics (paperback) / 544 pages / $8

Although it was not an assignment, I read this in eighth grade and was profoundly moved by Sydney Carton's words: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." I suddenly felt like an adult in my choice of reading materials.

"The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" (boxed paperback set) / by J.R.R. Tolkien / Del Rey / $29.95

We had no public library when I was growing up, so I found this on my own. I've been a fantasy lover ever since. I chose my profession in part because I wanted to help children find books that would make an equally important impact on them.