Last fall, I reported on the emergence of Little Free Libraries and was very inspired by the concept.

Little Free Libraries, which started in Wisconsin, are freestanding little book houses in front of private yards, businesses and not-for-profits that allow people to take a book and / or leave a book.

They have been spotted all over the world. There are dozens in the Milwaukee area, too. 

My family and I decided we wanted to make one, too. We worked on it sporadically, and finally finished it on July 3.

Our little free library stands in front of our Walker’s Point home. It is a bilingual library, featuring many books for children (and soon adults), in Spanish and English.

We live in a predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhood and my children attend a bilingual school, so having books available in both languages was important.

We had a sign made explaining the "take a book / leave a book" concept in both languages, as well.

There are construction plans on the Little Free Library website or the libraries can be purchased in finished form. We built ours freestyle, but that’s only because my partner is a pretty handy guy. (I was the nail monkey and the kids painted it and stained the cedar shingles on the roof.)

So far, a few books have been removed from the library and a neighbor said he was going to donate a few to it.

We are excited about having this and hope it connects us further to our community and provides neighborhood people with some bueno reading material.