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9-year-old Valrico girl creates free library in front yard

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Posted at 8:03 AM, Feb 24, 2021
and last updated 2021-02-24 16:34:36-05

VALRICO, Fla. — There’s a nine-year-old girl in Valrico who goes to the library so much, she decided to start her own branch right in the front yard.

Ava Kuehner calls it the Little Loving Library, and she runs it all by herself.

“I think that they’ll see this and think, ‘maybe I should go grab a book on my walk around the neighborhood,’” said Kuehner, who likes to keep the old newspaper box stocked with about 50 books at a time.

Kuehner especially wants kids to experience that same joy she gets every time she flips the pages of a book.

She understands not all families can make it to the public library during a pandemic and buying new books can be expensive. The Little Loving Library is based completely on donations.

“You can take a book, you can leave a book, you can share a book, you can do whatever you want with the book and if you don’t like it you can return it,” said Kuehner.

For such a small box, it’s an inviting place. Kuehner even has games, dog treats, bookmarkers and a guest book.

“If lots of people sign it we’ll know that it’s making a great impact,” said Kuehner.

If you are lucky enough to walk by and see Kuehner, she may even offer to read a book to you.

“There are a lot of little kids in our neighborhood that can learn how to read so this has books for all ages,” said Kuehner. “Since I love reading maybe other people should know how I feel and maybe they can love reading.”