Delaware’s newest “library” consists of about 35 children’s books housed inside of a small wooden cabinet.

This “little library” was created by Mary Morrison in the front yard of her home on West Fountain Avenue.

The library rests at the end of a small stone path, beside a shrub that has been trimmed to look like a rabbit. It’s “kind of cozy in here and kind of curious looking,” said Morrison.

Morrison said she created her little library because “I just thought it would be fun to have this here for kids because there are a lot of kids in the neighborhood.”

The library’s contents are “sort of in flux all of the time,” according to Morrison. Books come and go as children borrow and return them and new books are added to the collection by Morrison or through donations. The books that are currently available are suitable for children from beginning readers to fourth- or fifth-graders. Morrison is considering adding some Young Adult books.

Two frequent visitors to the little library, Lorenzo and Bernal Miller, ages 7 and 5, respectively, were at the little library on the morning of Friday, July 17, along with their mother, Alejandra Miller.

Both boys said they like to visit the library and Alejandra Miller said: “I love it. I love just the way that [Lorenzo] says ‘I want to go get a book from Mary’ and he gets his bicycle and takes off and gets a book and comes back and reads.”

Morrison, an artist by trade, said that reading is important because “books stimulate the imagination.”

Lorenzo provided an example of how the library has sparked his imagination. He is currently working on a song for the library. He plans to call it “Mary had a little library.” He has run into only one problem with his lyrics: “Wherever [Mary] goes, the lamb follows,” he explained, “but the library’s not alive, so how could it follow? So that’s what I’m working on.”

Painted on the front of the little library is “Free To All.” This is a tribute to Andrew Carnegie’s libraries, according to Morrison. It also represents the rule of Morrison’s library. The books are available to any child who would like to read them. Morrison plans to keep the little library permanently because “there will always be kids.”