We are looking at placing a small library, which is accessible by the children themselves, outside the toddler area of the playground.
Fundraising
The carol singing raised £200 towards the cost of getting the cabinet made and installed. Lynne Davies-Craine, who initiated the project, has now set up Crowdfunder page to help cover the rest of the costs. If you are able to make a small donation, that would be fantastic.
How the library will work
The idea is that children (aiming for toddlers through primary school age) can choose a book and sit on the benches to read, return it to the library, or take it home and bring it back another day.
Motivations
Lynne explained her motivation for starting the library. “I watched an episode of Chanel 4’s Educating Yorkshire, where a year 7 boy (11years old), had a reading age of 5, and it was clear how much he was struggling in school. I’ve worked with teenagers and my whole family are teachers, I know the impact of reduced reading rates, so I felt bringing reading to a place where children already play, might help encourage them to enjoy reading.
“The statistics are quite shocking, and recently The Times have started a ‘Get Britain Reading’ Campaign, and the Government have named 2026 as The Year of Reading. In 2025, the percentage of children and young people who told us they enjoyed reading was its lowest in 20 years.“
Find out more
You can find out more about Little Free Libraries all over the world on the Little Free Library website.
Image credit
Photo by Nils Huenerfuerst