Welcome to episode 37 of From the Front Porch, a collection of conversations on books, small business, and life in the South.

I'm Annie Jones, owner of the bookshelf, an independent bookstore in downtown Thomasville, Georgia.

And today I'm joined by my husband and frequent co-host, Jordan Jones.

Today we'll be chatting about children's

literature and our favorite characters from children's books, plus how they affected and influenced

who we are today. So it should be a fun conversation. Let's go ahead and get started.

All right. Hi, Jordan. Hey.

So I wasn't quite sure what the podcast this week was going to be about, but I decided when it became a parent that we would be co-hosting together again, that it might be fun to talk

about our favorite children's books and children's characters, but also really how they might have affected our adulthoods.

So what did you like to read when you were a kid?

Well, okay, so you told me...

Or did you like to read when you were a kid?

I did, I did.

I can see looking back certain characters that definitely influenced me.

But when you asked me to do this today, earlier today, I thought to myself, I said, okay,

what characters did I read as a child that influenced me?

And I know for a fact that you were heavily influenced by certain characters,

at least I think you were.

Yes.

I think I was probably less influenced as a child by characters

and more influenced by books that I read in college and on.

Nevertheless, there are a few moments in my childhood at various points where I can

...