A very literary-focused local woman is looking for a way to bring free children’s books to children across Hermosa Beach by putting a Little Free Library in her front yard.
“My wife put this together for our community as a way to encourage children to read and to teach the value of sharing,” said Dylan Lauzon.
The family set up a Kickstarter.com campaign and after only six days on the donation site, raised the entire $700 needed for the project.
“Bringing a children’s little library to the town would be a big deal and a special gift to the community for all to enjoy!” the Kickstarter website said about the ‘Hermosa Beach’s First Free Children’s Little Library’ campaign.
The pair has a 15-month old daughter who has recently become more interested in listening to stories, and 33-year-old Nicole and her husband wanted to share their daughter’s love of books with the community.
“I first heard about Little Libraries through one of my cousins in Switzerland,” said Nicole. “They had created a little one and my mom showed me a picture of their library in the snow.”
The Little Library program began in 2009 in Hudson, Wisconsin when a local man built a small model of a one room schoolhouse in honor of his school teacher mother and filled it with books. He put it on a post in his front yard and since then more than 10,000 free libraries have been built around the world. The Little Free Library program is a non-profit based on the “take a book, leave a book” idea.
“It’s based completely on the honor system,” Nicole said. “People can put books in, and I imagine some will never return, but it’s kind of a free flowing circulation. What’s so special about this is that it’s a great life lesson for kids too.”
Nicole has not decided on a design for her Hermosa Beach free library, but has been in contact with a local painter and hopes to paint it with children’s book characters.
“I want it to reflect classic children’s literature and be really whimsical,” said Nicole. “We were talking about making it low so it’s especially accessible to children.”
She added that there is a free library down the street from her house, but it caters mostly to adult books and she wants hers to be just for children.
“It’s just such a special thing to give to everybody,” Nicole said. “So many children and families walk by our house because we’re not far from the beach. I envision lots of little special stories coming from it.”
The Kickstarter Campaign allows donations from $1 to $100 or more and gives backers a mention on the Facebook page, a custom bookmark and even an inscription in a book. Donations will be accepted until Dec. 8.
“I think it’s gonna happen,” Nicole said. “I’m super excited.”
Visit http://www.kickstarter.com/and search ‘Hermosa Beach,’ to donate to the project.ER
