Well known publisher Penguin Books are celebrating their 90th birthday with 90 ‘Little Book Stops’ around the UK – including one in Northfield.
Penguin received over 2000 submissions from members of the public – from Shetland to Cornwall – offering to host a community book sharing box in their local area.
A local steward has been appointed to maintain each Little Book Stop, which will run on a ‘give a book, take a book’ concept and promote community-led book sharing.
One of the seven successful applicants to be chosen to host a box in the West Midlands lives in Bell Hill in Northfield, opposite Victoria School.
The family chosen to be Northfield’s Little Book Stop custodians said: “We are pleased to have this chance to offer books to the community and hope people will stop by to pick a book.”
The Little Book Stops initiative is designed to celebrate individuals across the UK who champion reading, support more people to easily access books, and help book lovers to find their next read.
Each box started with an initial curation of children’s and adult books, specially selected to celebrate 90 years of Penguin publishing. These included: The Boy, The Mole, The Fox & The Horse by Charlie Mackesey, Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo, Look Up! by Nathan Bryon & Dapo Adeola and The Story of Tracy Beaker by Jacqueline Wilson.
Northfield’s box has been up and running for a few weeks and, although the initial books may now have changed, it’s custodians are ensuring it is stocked with a selection of books suitable for children and adults.
The 90 Little Book Stops campaign forms part of Penguin Books’ ongoing 90th birthday celebrations, and is run in partnership with Little Free Library – the US-based non-profit that has overseen the installation of more than 200,000 neighbourhood book exchange boxes globally since 2009.
All the Little Book Stop locations in the West Midlands:
- Shrewsbury Town Football Club, Shrewsbury, SY2 6ST: Shrewsbury Town Foundation, part of Shrewsbury Town Football Club, have applied for a Little Book Stop to celebrate Reuben – a young adult with Down’s Syndrome who has been part of the Foundation’s programmes services for a long time. He has just opened a second-hand bookshop in a nearby town, and so this Little Book Stop aims to honour his love of books which he enjoys sharing with others.
- Concord Youth Centre, Claremont Road, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, B11 1LF: The book
stop will be placed outside the youth centre and will be stewarded by a former primary
school teacher. - Bell Hill, Northfield, Birmingham, B31 1LB
- Edgbaston Road East, Birmingham, B12 9QQ
- Woodway Lane, Coventry, CV2 2AG
- Visit Knowle, High Street, Knowle, Solihull, B93 0LF
- Biddulph Moor Community Association, Village Green, Woodhouse Lane, Biddulph Moor, ST8 7JX