Lost and Found: Childhood Memories Rediscovered

HAVE YOU EVER REMEMBERED SOMETHING FROM THE ARCHIVE OF YOUR CHILDHOOD, BUT NOT COMPLETELY? MAYBE A SCENE FROM A MOVIE, OR A CHARACTER FROM A BOOK, BUT YOU JUST CAN’T PLACE THE TITLE? WELL, YOU’RE CERTAINLY NOT ALONE. MARIA KATSOGRIDAKIS, AN RTVF SOPHOMORE, DEFINITELY HAS.

[Maria Katsogridakis] There’s this book that I can remember that we had at my like, first through eighth grade, we had it in my library. And I, I can like picture the title, I can remember it, like the cover page. And I can tell you the entire plot of the story. But I have tried so many Google searches, and I genuinely I cannot find the book. And I can’t find like anybody else that has heard of this book, but I could tell you like a play by play. 

SO HAS WEINBERG SOPHOMORE AMAYA MIKOLIC-BERRIOS. 

[Amaya Mikolic-Berrios] I don’t remember how old I was or when exactly this was. But at some point on a plane, I watched a movie. And it was like the most whimsical like magical. It was an animated movie. And I remember like thinking like, wow, this is transcendent. Like, this is one of the most magical pieces of art I’ve ever consumed. But it was like on a plane, and it was at night, and I don’t know, I was like, really young. And so for years later, I was like, what was that? It was gorgeous. It was like a dream. 

LIKE MANY COLLEGE STUDENTS THEIR AGE, KATSOGRIDAKIS AND MIKOLIC-BERRIOS HAVE NOSTALGIC MEMORIES THAT ARE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND IN THE PRESENT. LUCKILY, MIKOLIC-BERRIOS’S ENDED HAPPILY. 

[AMB] I found it years later. 

It was like a random like, like Instagram or Pinterest post or something that had the same, artistic style. I was like, wait, I know this from somewhere and that was like digging for like half an hour’s like “Where’s this from?” and I finally found it. 

It’s called Song of the Sea. I watched it again. I was like, “It’s just as magical as the first time.” And to this day, it’s one of my favorite movies.

UNFORTUNATELY, KATSOGRIDAKIS’S STORY IS LESS PROMISING. 

[MK]I have tried so many Google searches. I’ve tried every single keyword I can think of and I genuinely– I cannot find this book. 

OF COURSE, THE NATURAL COURSE OF ACTION WHEN YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT A BOOK IS TO TURN TO YOUR LOCAL LIBRARIAN. IN THIS CASE, IT’S THE EVANSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY. 

[Lorena Neal] My name is Lorena Neal. I am the legal literacy librarian. So I do a lot of the legal programming, but I’m also the sci fi and fantasy librarian. 

I SPOKE TO NEAL ABOUT WHAT HER FIRST REACTION IS WHEN SOMEONE COMES UP TO HER AND STARTS WITH, “SO THERE’S THIS BOOK…”

[LN] It happens all the time, either with the books that are very popular right now. And they’re trying to remember that their friend recommended to them. And those are fairly easy to find, usually, because they’re kind of Top of Mind. But then there are the ones that are, you know, I read this was in my grandma’s attic, and I remember the color was yellow, and that was it.

NEAL SAYS HER GO-TO FIX FOR THIS IS GOOGLE BOOKS, WHERE YOU CAN TYPE IN ANYTHING FROM CHARACTER NAMES TO PLOT POINTS, AND GOOGLE’S SEARCH ENGINE WILL COMB THROUGH ENTIRE BOOKS TO FIND THE CLOSEST MATCH. KNOWING WHEN YOU LAST READ THE BOOK IS ALSO BENEFICIAL, BECAUSE YOU CAN NARROW DOWN THE PUBLICATION DATE. IN FACT, NEAL USED THOSE EXACT TIPS TO FIND HER OWN BOOKISH WHITE WHALE. 

[LN] A book that I was obsessed with in sixth grade, and I read over and over from my school library. And it was about a goldfish that was released into a stream and sort of lived the rest of its life in the wild. And I wanted to get it for my own kids later. And I could not for the life of me remember the name or anything except this one sort of very vivid scene. And Google Books found it for me. It’s called Troubled Waters.

MANY OF THE BOOKS PEOPLE WANT TO FIND AGAIN ARE FROM AN EARLY TIME IN THEIR LIFE: USUALLY ELEMENTARY OR MIDDLE SCHOOL. I ASKED NEAL WHY SHE THINKS PEOPLE ARE MORE LIKELY TO WANT TO FIND THOSE BOOKS AGAIN. 

[LN] A lot of the books you read in childhood, just have that magic to them of exposing you to a new idea or a new thought for the first time. And people want to kind of recapture that feeling of wonder. So these books are often very sentimental for that reason, I think.

I ASKED CHILDREN’S LIBRARIAN BRIAN WILSON IF HIS SECTION GETS THESE QUESTIONS A LOT. 

[Brian Wilson] We call them stumpers. it’s usually someone who said, Well, I read this book, somebody who’s like older, I read this book to my child when they were younger. And now I have a grandchild and I want to read that book, but I can’t remember, you know, so it’s kind of, yes.

HE SAYS THEY POP UP ABOUT ONCE A MONTH, AND HE HAS SEVERAL STRATEGIES FOR FINDING THE BOOK. HE STARTS WITH THE LIBRARY’S CATALOGUE, AND THEN TURNS TO LARGER SEARCH ENGINES, LIKE WORLDCAT AND THE INTERNET AT LARGE. 

[BW] New York Public Library, did a thing about like, a list of like, crowdsourcing, you can go to like, list search, you can go to like these groups. And they could possibly help as well. Also, oh, yes, I have the backup. I asked my coworkers, I asked my colleagues, I asked people in my department, you know, and I asked friends, you know, I do ask if it has to go hey, do you remember this? And sometimes that really does help.

GROWING UP IN THE DIGITAL AGE, HOWEVER, MEANS THAT OUR CHILDHOOD MEMORIES ARE OF MORE THAN JUST NOVELS. 

[Sara Gronich] it’s like this little, this little guy. And he was like, in his bedroom at night. And then he was like, would be like, would be like a superhero In his pajamas, and he would go on, like, superhero missions. And you play as him and whatever. Oh my god, was it called Pajama Sam? 

THAT WAS SARA GRONICH, A MEDILL SENIOR WHO STRUGGLED TO REMEMBER A VIDEO GAME SHE USED TO PLAY AS A CHILD. 

[SG] I think it was just like the epitome of nostalgia in terms of childhood culture, especially like growing up when you had this, like, combination of playing video games, but then also like playing outside. I remember coming home dirty, you know, from playing out in the mud or whatever. Then I’d go into the shower, and then coming on my little PC and like, pressing buttons with my little six year old hands to play these silly little games. I just, it’s just so nostalgic. 

BUT WHICH OF THESE VIDEO GAMES AND TV SHOWS STAY WITH US, AND WHY? TO FIND OUT, I TURNED TO THE REALM OF SCIENCE. 

[Breniel Lemley] my name is Breniel Lemley, I am a PhD candidate in the Media Technology and Society Program here at Northwestern. 

LEMLEY TOLD ME THAT CHILDHOOD MEDIA CAN BE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHILDREN LEARNING EVERYTHING FROM SCIENCE AND MATH TO SOCIAL SKILLS. 

[BL] What kids learn early on in their lives as young children has been shown to have some sort of effects down the line. And this is just kind of, in general, just like if they’re learning more math or science in preschool, like that’ll help them in the long run as well. 

LEMLEY ALSO TOLD ME THAT OUR CHILDHOOD SHOWS AND MOVIES MEANT A LOT TO US BECAUSE IN A LOT OF WAYS, CHARACTERS WERE MORE THAN JUST FIGURES ON A SCREEN. 

[BL] A lot of research has shown that kids can develop attachments to different characters on the show. And so like a good example of this is like, let’s say like Elmo from Sesame Street, like kids can have an attachment with Elmo and then any like things that Elmo says, a lot of times will transfer over and they’ll remember a lot of what Elmo was was teaching them on the show there. 

THESE BOOKS AND MOVIES DON’T JUST MEAN A LOT TO US BECAUSE THEY TAUGHT US THINGS: TO A YOUNG CHILD, THEY WERE FAMILIAR FRIENDS. 

AND WHEN YOU FINALLY FIND THAT BOOK YOU’VE BEEN SEARCHING FOR OR THAT CHERISHED OLD MOVIE YOU STILL REMEMBER, ITS LIKE REUNITING WITH AN OLD FRIEND. A COUPLE HOURS AFTER OUR CONVERSATION, KATSOGRIDAKIS REMEMBERED ONE WORD IN THE TITLE OF HER BOOK, AND TYPED IT INTO GOOGLE. 

[MK] It wasn’t even the top one in the search. It was like, two rows down in Google Photos, and I clicked it, sat up so straight, like I was lying down in bed, reading, and I sat up so straight and was like, “Oh my god, this is it! I found it! I wasn’t making it up, I knew it was real!” That brought back so much nostalgia, and now that I’ve found it again, I never want to let it go. 

FOR WNUR NEWS, I’M MIKA ELLISON. 

Music: How Can I Forget You? By Faron Young