Stroud eight-year-old starts little libraries

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  • Stroud eight-year-old starts little libraries
    Stroud eight-year-old starts little libraries
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Eight-year-old Hunter Mash felt the need to help his community with one of his favorite pastimes – reading.

When Hunter was two, the Mashes lived in Michigan, where little libraries were popular. While up there on vacation in August, Hunter saw these little libraries and wanted to build some for citizens in Stroud to enjoy.

“He was just really excited to get something here, just like that,” his mother Halle Mash said. “We used to get them out all the time when we lived in Michigan.”

Along with the young adult group at their church, the Mashes began creating the little libraries in mid-September.

“It’s been a slow process,” she said.

Currently, there are two little libraries, one in Foster Park and another under the Route 66 Pavilion.

“It’s for any ages,” Mash said. “Right now, we have a mix of kid books and adult women books.”

The way it works is anyone can bring a book and take a book.

“It’s for anybody to use,” she said.

Halle said they plan on creating two more little libraries by the end of January, one to be placed at Kathy’s Thrift Shop and the other one is undecided.

Halle said they wanted to create these little libraries to that readers won’t have to worry about not making it to the library in time or having to pay a fee.

Hunter said he wanted to create these libraries so kids in Stroud could have books to read.

“It’s just kind of fun,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like homework. It doesn’t feel like a chore. It’s something fun to do.”

Halle said Hunter was reading chapter books halfway through first grade.

“He absolutely loves reading,” she said. “He has a really good reading level.”

Halle said she’s proud of him.

“It’s exciting to know my eight year old is wanting to get out in the community and reach out to other people, even kids, who may not have as much literacy as he does,” she said.

“It feels really great that he wants to do so much for the community at this age.” Halle said the response from the com

Halle said the response from the community has been positive.

“Within a day, we’ve had a lot of interest in them,” she said.

Halle said the First Assembly of God paid for supplies and hopes that these libraries will not only give more kids access to books but also provide a way for people to connect with God through the Christian books in the libraries.