Urban Fox Spotted In Tower Hamlets

London's urban foxes have an ability to pop up in the most unlikely places. Today, an urban fox has made a permanent home in Wapping thanks to Tower Hamlets Community Housing. The fox in question is of course one of our fabulous Hannah Adamaszek designed Urban Fox Little Free Libraries. This is Tower Hamlet's first LFL.

The LFL is perfectly placed on Wapping High Street at the junction of Lilley Close. Tower Hamlets Community Housing chose the location so that the LFL could be enjoyed by its residents, the local community and all visitors to this historic part of London.

Author Stephanie Saulter officially opened the library by donating copies of her book. Stephanie’s third novel, Regeneration, completes the trilogy that began with Gemsigns and continued in Binary. The stories are set in 22^nd century London, and chronicle the struggles of a genetically modified people, the gems, first to escape the grip of the commercial companies that created them, and then to overcome the suspicion, discrimination and prejudice which they face from the norm majority. In Regeneration, the gems’ emergence as innovators and entrepreneurs in their own right begins to threaten not only entrenched business interests, but the entire political status quo.

Stephanie said: “I’m a big fan of what the Little Free Libraries, and indeed all libraries, do for their communities; but this particular library, in this particular place, has a huge resonance with my own work. I was very aware of the historic and cultural significance of the different parts of the city that I used in the novels. The area of east London where the majority of my characters live is known to them as the Squats, and it’s a safe haven for homeless, victimised, marginalised people – a place from which they can begin to rebuild their lives. In our time, that same area is known as … Wapping. But it gets even better, because those newly emancipated people learn what they need to know in part by accessing archived knowledge. In other words, they consult the library. I can’t tell you how delighted I am to see that tale come full circle.”

The next time you're in Wapping, be sure to stop by and donate a book, take a book or both. Thanks to everyone at Tower Hamlets Community Housing and Stephanie Saulter for bringing more books to the East End. 

London's Little Free Libraries

We're building Little Free Libraries for communities all across the UK, but in today's post we share photos of some of our favourite Little Free Libraries from around the capital. Happy reading!

A TARDIS, some foxes and telephone boxes. Stop by, take a look and pick up a book. Great Portland Street Phone Box Little Free Library; Foxes in Wapping and Walthamstow; and a Little TARDIS Library, landing here, there and everywhere.

Investigating something new in the neighbourhood. Clapton, Hackney.

Johnny Rotten and Samuel Plimsoll came both from here, so we thought they should meet on the Prah Road Little Free Library, Finsbury Park.

"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." Cicero. Finsbury Park.

Peacock inspired Little Free Library Holland Park.

Books in the playground at Heathmere School, Roehampton.

Read a book by the river in Wapping.

Roar! Red Lion Lane, Shooters Hill/Woolwich.

Lost in a book in Walthamstow Village.

Pick up a book on your way home from school in E17.

Magic Forest Little Free Library, Highams Park E4.

Happy reading in Wanstead.

Follow the white rabbit... to Walthamstow.

The Little Free Library map of Waltham Forest

We're installing Little Free Libraries in communities all over the UK. From Bradford in the north to Brighton in the south and lots of wonderful communities in between. One community in North East London (Walthamstow) has really embraced the Little Free Library movement and now has 25 LFLs in and around the area, the largest neighbourhood network in the UK.

The first one was installed on Garner Road in May 2014, with the most recent opening it's tiny door on Springfield Road on Monday 28th September. The map includes LFLs installed throughout the borough, including Leyton, Leytonstone and Highams Park. To celebrate this Little Free Library landmark, we've created a Waltham Forest Little Free Library map. Happy reading!



If you live in London and love to read books, why not take a tour. The LFLs are always brimming with books, but equally always need new donations too. Children's books are particularly welcome!

Special thanks to all of Waltham Forest's brilliant LFL hosts, all of the tremendously talented artists and all the groups, organisations and businesses that have helped fund this project. Find out more at www.lflproject.org 

World Book Night events from Little Free Library Project UK

World Book Night is a celebration of our love of reading and an opportunity for people in communities across the country and across the world to share books with one another.

Little Free Libraries and World Book Night were made for each other. Every day people around the world share books with one another to promote reading via a network of more than 25,000 Little Free Libraries.

To help celebrate World Book Night, Little Free Library Project UK has teamed up with some fantastic publishers to give away a wonderful collection of brilliant books specifically aimed at children and young people.

DK Books and Walker Books have both generously donated some brilliant titles that will be distributed across a number of our Little Free Libraries as part of a special World Book Night event.

The Alex Rider collection by Anthony Horowitz from the fantastic folks at Walker Books.

A first book of Fairy Tales, Everything you need to know about dinosaurs, Space: A Children's Encyclopedia and many more from the brilliant DK Books.

We have lots of copies to give away from a number of London Little Free Libraries including Wingfield Road, Walthamstow, Victory Park, Stratford, Victoria Park, Hackney, Brettenham Road, Walthamstow, Prah Road, Finsbury Park and Red Lion Lane, Woolwich.

A young reader lost in a book at our Wingfield Road Little Free Library in Walthamstow.

Picking up a book on the way home from school, Brettenham Road, Walthamstow.

These special books will be in Little Free Libraries after 5pm. If you would like to find out a specific address/postcode please send us a direct message on Facebook (www.facebook.com/LittleFreeLibraryProject). Please share your World Book Night stories and photos with us on Twitter too (@LFLProject). Happy reading!

www.littlefreelibraryproject.org.uk

Young readers in Birmingham take delivery of their Little Free Libraries

Young readers at Bearwood Primary School in Birmingham quickly start making use of their new Little Free Libraries.

Funded by the Siobhan Dowd Trust, we have created four colourful LFLs especially for children at this wonderful primary school in Birmingham.

Bearwood Primary School is the fourth school in the UK to host a Little Free Library and the first in Birmingham. Three of the Little Free Libraries will provide books just for kids, but one will also contain books for older readers (including parents) when it is installed a local community cafe.

The Siobhan Dowd Trust have funded the project and will also be supplying a wide selection of books for these enthusiastic young students. "We are very grateful to the wonderful Siobhan Dowd Trust and pleased to have worked with them to create this new network of Little Free Libraries in Birmingham." said Nick Cheshire, Director of Little Free Library Project UK.

Happy reading!

www.littlefreelibraryproject.org.uk

Two more Little Free Libraries for North East London

We've built two more Little Free Libraries for wonderful Walthamstow. The largest network of Little Free Libraries in the UK will soon be comprised of 14 LFLs in total.

The first, pictured above will be stocked with page turners for people of all ages, but the second below will be filled with books just for children and young people. Both Little Free Libraries will be installed on Wingfield Road.

We have worked with a fantastic artist, Emma Scutt, who added the beautifully engaging designs to both Little Free Libraries. Both LFLs were made possible by the support of the Wingdolph community (residents of Wingfield and Randolph Roads), who will be holding an official launch on Friday 3rd October to introduce the LFLs to the local community.

Take a look at the gallery of Walthamstow Little Free Libraries here. Happy reading!

Little Free Libraries and the promotion of free public art

“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create.” Maria Montessori.

Books open us up to a world of imagination, but before a person chooses to pick up, open and read a book, they may need to be inspired to do so. If books are fuel for the imagination, then the places where the books reside should inspire us too. That's why all of our Little Free Libraries are decorated with vivid and engaging art.

As well as being free book sharing venues for communities, each Little Free Library is a one-of-kind piece of inspiring public art. We work with a hugely talented variety of artists, from traditional contemporary artists and book illustrators to street artists, tattoo artists and many more besides.

Below we feature some of our most recent Little Free Library creations and shine a light on the fantastic artists that helped turn each into a magical and inspiring art installation.

Gabriela Castellanos has worked with us to create two beautiful artworks. The first is installed on Garner Road in Walthamstow. Above, Gabriela adding colour to the second, Epping Forest themed Little Free Library, installed on Overton Drive in Wanstead.

Above: Oliver and Freddie celebrate after their Little Free Library is installed outside their home in Wanstead.

Above: The Urban Fox Little Free Library in Stoke Newington by Hannah Adamaszek. Hannah is well known within the street art scene for her female portraits, which have brought a painterly style often found within contemporary art. In 2013 she created a stunning urban fox mural as part of the Mural on the Marsh project in East London. She has now added her urban fox design to two of our LFLs, which have both become very popular. How could you walk past this without stopping to take a book?

Pictured above, the nature themed Little Free Library by artist Leticia Molera Vasquez (pictured right) and below at work in her tattoo studio.

Artist Emma Scutt worked with us on one of our very first Little Free Libraries, pictured below left. She has been a great supporter of our charity through her collaboration and has added her beautiful, engaging art to three Little Free Libraries.

Above right: Emma brings a night owl to life. Emma has created a wide range of stunning murals as part of her portfolio and her LFL designs now form permanent art installations for communities to enjoy. We'll be installing two Little Free Libraries on Wingfield Road in Walthamstow, London on Friday 3rd October. The first pictured above right and the second will be unveiled on Friday, which is themed especially for children and of course filled with wonderful children's books.

The Red Lion Lane Little Free Library will be roaring into life on Saturday 4 October in Woolwich, South East London. The red lion design was created by illustrator Emma Russell. This is the second Little Free Library that Emma added her unique and inspiring art to.

Above: Emma Russell adds her illustrations to the Hear, Bear Pear Little Free Library. You can listen to Emma talking about how she came up with the design on London Live.

On one of our most recent projects we have been working with a very unique artist with a craft that dates back to the 15th century. Russell Frost of Hooksmith has added a one of a kind book cover to one of our Little Free Libraries, which will be installed at the Wanstead Tap in Forest Gate, London on 18 October.

Pictured above from left: Russell next to his printing press; letters inset within the press; and the top of the Little Free Library with the printed words "Once upon a time at the Wanstead Tap".

Letterpress printing was the normal form of printing text from its invention by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-15th century until the 19th century and remained in wide use for books and other uses until the second half of the 20th century. We'll be announcing the launch event for the Wanstead Tap Little Free Library very soon. Check our website or follow us on Facebook to stay up to date.

Kiko Honda-Powell studied architectual and interior design in Osaka, Japan. Now a resident of London she has added her interpretative artistic stylings to two of our Little Free Libraries. Pictured above bluebells, trees and sunlit leaves subtly encourage passers-by to stop in for a book.

Above: a recent coffee morning meet-up at community cafe Albert and Francis in Leyton, East London, where the Little Free Library has become a popular feature.

Johnny Rotten and Samuel Plimsoll (who were both born in the area) have a chat on one side of the Finsbury Park Little Free Library, while a child points passers-by in the right direction on the door. The wonderful illustrations were created by Islington based artist Teresa Robertson. The LFL is stewarded by a wonderful community of book lovers in the Plimsoll Road area of Finsbury Park.

We'll be posting more pictures and featuring more artists soon. In the meantime you can keep up with our progress around the country on Facebook, Twitter and on our website.

Little Free Library Project UK

Registered charity no. 1158557

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Wanstead, Leytonstone and Leyton share a common theme

We worked with three fantastic artists to create three beautiful Little Free Libraries in Wanstead, Leytonstone and Leyton. Each LFL has an Epping Forest theme (the Forest is within walking distance of each LFL) and is full of books for each community to share.

Above left: Leytonstone's Little Free Library by artist Leticia Molera Vasquez. Above right: Leyton's Little Free Library by artist Kiko Honda-Powell. Below: Wanstead's Little Free Library by Gabriela Castellanos. When she's not decorating LFLs for us Leticia runs tattoo studio Artefacto in Leytonstone with her partner Sean Vasquez. Kiko specializes in interpretative art and studied graphic and interior design in Osaka, Japan, while Gabriela takes her art influences from her Venezuelan father using a graphic approach with vivid colours.

Three little libraries with one theme, each completely different; all beautiful and engaging.

Read more about our Little Free Libraries across London and the UK in a recent article by the Independent.

A new network of Little Free Libraries for Bradford

Little Free Library Project UK are working in partnership with Cllr Alex Ross-Shaw together with local community organisations, artists and businesses to deliver a network of Little Free Libraries for Bradford. The project is currently in the planning stages, but we are looking forward to launching this exciting new project.

We spoke to Councillor Ross-Shaw who told us why he is so passionate about the project:

"The Little Free Libraries project has sparked the imaginations of people around the world and in Bradford it's been no different. Encouraging people, and children in particular, not just to read but to share books with others is something everyone's getting behind.

There's a big drive in Bradford to improve our literacy rates for children and adults and it would be great to play a little part in that by making it easier for people to access books and develop a love of reading. The fact that Little Free Libraries can be public works of art in the middle of communities makes them extra special.”

We'll be announcing more details soon.

www.littlefreelibraryproject.org.uk

Islington's first Little Free Library

We are installing a network of Little Free Libraries in the London Borough of Islington. The first of these has now been installed in Finsbury Park.

Located on Prah Road near Plimsoll and Blackstock Roads, the Little Free Library was decorated by local artist Teresa Robertson. Above you can see Samuel Plimsoll in conversation with Johnny Rotten, who were both born in the area, though a few years apart!

Below a footballer can be seen reading a copy of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. The LFL is hosted by the Flood family, who act as Little Free Library stewards with the support of their neighbours in this community spirited area of North London.