We are so excited to be closely following the development of a brand new mini book share in Pennsylvania! This is just the FIRST STAGE and Cortney, the book fairy who is setting up the project, has promised to keep everyone in the loop of developments. This is Cortney’s account so far.

The Building of a mini book share: Cortney’s Story

I have been browsing the Little Free Library website for a long time. I keep checking back for new designs, for something that really catches my eye. Some of them do! They are amazing, and creative and I love them, BUT some are just too much $$$. It is hard to justify that when you know you will also have to find a way to stock this LFL. Honestly, I just wish I had more money. These handcrafted Libraries are amazing and hats off to the creator! I just did not have the funds and could not justify the amount for the library that I would receive. (Insert super sad face here).

Attending a grand opening

I received a notification/invitation on Facebook a few months ago in regards to the Grand Opening of a Little Free Library as a dedication to the passing of a local resident that was an advocate for literacy in children. I could not wait to attend! I wanted to see the library, I wanted to look at the books, I wanted to donate books! My daughter and I attended the Grand Opening, she traded a book and so did I.

the idea of a personalised mini book share…

This was a custom LFL made to replicate the building that it is attached to. It is beautiful! I drive by this library every single day, as it is near a bus stop there is ALWAYS a little girl sitting on the steps reading a book and it melts my heart. Everyday I thought, “I want to do this! I want to promote literacy and encourage reading! Put books in homes for families that may not be able to afford them!” I already participated in January 15th Book Drop day, and occasionally drop books randomly throughout the month, but that isn’t enough.

The beginning of a new project!

As I walked into work that day I decided we were doing this! My boyfriend is a very crafty, creative woodworker and he is excited to help! We started looking into design ideas, checking out what others have done. We want simple for our first LFL, but we want it to be awesome! We came home and went through our house and started measuring my books, then we measured my daughter’s books. (She is 5, so she has some pretty big hardcover children’s books.) We drew out a few ideas and decided to stick with super simple for this first one. We entertained a concept from the LFL site, but we turned it so that way larger books could fit. Although the design is not complete and we still could change our minds, this is our start!

And there is more to come 🙂

Jeff and I look forward to this journey and sharing the responsibility of maintaining this LFL with our children. We hope to have a lot of community involvement and I promise there are more surprises to come!

HAPPY READING!!!!!

Thank you to Cortney for sharing her project with us. If you’re a book fairy and you have a story to tell or project to share, email Cordelia on bookfairyemail@gmail.com for a chance to feature it here! If you want to become a book fairy like Cortney, grab some stickers from the shop.