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Little Free Library book highlights the growing project

A book by Margret Aldrich includes photos of the take-a-book-leave-a-book structures and interviews with those who created them.

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Freddie Herpin/Opelousas Daily World/AP
A 'Little Free Library' is set up in front of Cankton Elementary School in Cankton, La.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

You may have seen a Little Free Library in your neighborhood – a small structure where passersby can take a book or leave a book.

Now a book titled, appropriately enough, “The Little Free Library Book,” has been released. The book by Margret Aldrich was published last April and includes photos of the LFLs as well as interviews with “stewards,” the LFL name for those who create and watch over the structures.

As we previously reported, the LFL idea started in 2009 with Todd Bol, who told the Monitor he was inspired by his mother, a teacher. According to the Little Free Library website, almost 25,000 were in existence by January of this year.

Aldrich’s book has gotten some positive reviews. Shelf Awareness editor Marilyn Dahl called it “not just a nice book to peruse; it's an inspiration and invitation to share books and conversation and joy.” Minneapolis Star Tribune writer Emily H. Freeman wrote that after reading the book, “if you weren’t already a devotee of this homegrown project, prepare to become one…. [There are] heartwarming vignettes, interviews and colorful photos that bring the projects to life on the page…. both an entertaining read and an inspiring one. Aldrich writes with a clear, journalistic ease.”

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