I had "Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine" as a child. I don't think it had a direct influence on my career in AI, but when I had a college job as a computer help desk consultant, I would keep it on my desk, and when a student would ask "This is a really strange question, but ..." and I had heard the same thing multiple times before, I would respond "Hmm, let me consult a reference manual", flip through "Danny" for a bit, and then give the answer that I already knew.