I, Robot by Hal George Hal George reflects on the childhood year that reshaped his life, beginning with a cardboard robot costume and unraveling into the painful story beneath it. Forced to skip five grades, uprooted from friends, and thrust into a school where he felt unseen, Hal traces how a brilliant boy learned to mute his feelings and move through the world like a machine. Decades later, he begins to understand what was lost, what endured, and how he is finally reclaiming a full, human life. Wanta See Somepin’ Good? by Tim Yearnshaw Tim Yearnshaw takes us back to a California childhood where scrap wood, tricycle wheels, and big imaginations were all a gang of kids needed to build a “police wagon” worthy of the Dixon Tribune. As Tim, his brother, and their neighborhood friend Mike hammer, paint, and dream their way toward local fame, the story captures the sweetness of being the youngest tag-along and the thrill of seeing your handiwork celebrated in print. Learning a New Language by Tim Yearnshaw Tim Yearnshaw looks back on the summer of 1956, when two worldly new neighbors introduced him and his brother to the mysteries of swearing, sex, and growing up. What begins as innocent curiosity quickly turns into shock, confusion, and an unforgettable confession to his Baptist mother. With humor and tenderness, Tim traces the moment a single forbidden word opened the door to a larger, more complicated world. The Fog by Dan Rott Dan Rott looks back on a California childhood where danger and delight blurred together in ways almost unimaginable today. In a neighborhood full of free-range kids, the biggest thrill came from chasing the town’s DDT fogging truck on their bikes, weaving through the thick white cloud without a second thought. With humor and hindsight, Dan reflects on the toughness, innocence, and sheer luck that carried his generation through the risky adventures of mid-century life.
