In early January, Yvonne Looi spotted a box of discarded children’s books at her Ghim Moh HDB block. She thought it was such a waste to discard books still in good condition.
“They had clearly been cherished before. And I wondered if we could prolong their lifespan,” she tells The Pride.
It prompted her to start a little community library at her lift landing at Blk 27 Ghim Moh Link, with just a wooden crate, chairs and some decorative potted plants.
Mindful of Covid-19 concerns, she placed a sign to encourage residents to take the books and keep them if they wish, or to return them after sanitizing them.
The Little Library is an extension of what the Loois do together as a family – read. Yvonne’s children, Hugo, 3 and Harley, 1, do not have screen-based entertainment.
Says the stay-at-home mum: “We have books all over the house. During playdates, my son always wants to introduce his favourite books to his friends.”
Mother and children spend a few minutes every day being librarians, tidying the bookshelf and watering the plants. “It’s just something very natural for us to do,” explains Yvonne.
The 38-year-old, who has a PhD in biological science says: “I love to be on the move, and to make people happy.”
She says that she has always toyed with the idea of “leaving behind a park or a library” for her local community and starting the Little Library is a small step in that direction.
Traffic at the Little Library increased once she posted about it on a Facebook group Books Don’t Throw. It has also garnered attention in the media.
Yvonne says: “I’ve noticed that books are taken or have been shuffled around. We bump into fellow residents when we are leaving the house or coming back. Sometimes people text me to tell me they’ve left books behind!”
Most of the books in the library are children’s titles, but now that more people have been visiting the library, Yvonne has added books from other genres.
Starting the Little Library has helped her to get to know residents she otherwise wouldn’t have met. “There’s a ‘kampung spirit’ being built, as conversations are happening at the library, or about the library,” she says.
Yvonne is now working with her town council to see if the library can have a more permanent space somewhere more convenient for residents.
She says: “Ideally, it should be where people pass by so they do not have to make a deliberate trip to get to it.”
From a community book exchange to a movement for reading and youth journalism
In another part of Singapore, a little library has “crawled” into a corner of Taman Jurong Community Club and into the hearts of residents there.
The Caterpillar Library started in May 2018; its name was inspired by the popular children’s book The Hungry Caterpillar, says the pop-up library’s founder Chester Ong, 36.
He chose the name because it is one of his older son’s favourite books. Kai, now 5, is the reason the library exists, explains Chester.
Kai was already an avid reader at age 3, and kept pestering his parents for new books.
Explains Chester: “The nearest library to our home is a few bus stops away, and it’s not convenient to go to the library at the end of a work day.”
Even though Chester and his wife Wen Tong built a make-believe library for Kai out of cardboard at home, their son had other ideas.
The proud dad tells The Pride: “Kai said to me ‘but Daddy, a library is for everyone.’”
So Chester approached Taman Jurong CC and discovered that the club had an unused bookshelf just outside its premises. With that, the Caterpillar Library was born.
At first, the response to the library – or more accurately a book exchange (its motto is “Give a book and spread the love! Take a book and be inspired!”) – was not great.
Then Chester got the National Library Board to donate some retired books to help kick-start the exchanges and the new stock encouraged residents to keep returning to check out the new selection.
Maintaining the library is a crucial factor to its success, Chester says.
“If you keep something well maintained, others will also do the same.”
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The book exchange has proved to be so popular that Chester no longer needs to bring any books with him when he visits. Although it started with children’s titles, the largest category of books at the library now belongs to adult fiction.
Nevertheless, the offerings change from time to time and that’s part of its charm.
“Sometimes, someone decides to do spring cleaning and then there will be an influx of books of a certain genre or a series by the same author,” says Wen Tong.
Occasionally the “wrong” donations would be left behind, says Chester. For example, used assessment books, or items like CDs and coloured pencils would be found among the books.
“Some curation is required. I now use my kids’ old pram to transport unwanted items from the library,” Chester laughs.
The kids still have a say in the project though. Kai, now 5, and his younger sister, who is 3, recently told their parents that children’s titles should always be on the lowest shelf so that they can be reached easily!
There’s even a volunteer librarian now: A kind uncle who frequents the area has started tidying the shelves, weeding out unwanted titles on his own accord.
“I didn’t even need to tell Uncle what to do. He knows which titles to take out and stacks them up neatly for me to take away,” says Chester.
Chester and Wen Tong, who both work in the public sector, volunteer with a non-profit organisation Tasek Jurong, which helps needy families in the community.
They built a book wagon for a 10-week programme, The Gift of Reading, targeted at young children using storytelling and drama to encourage the love of the written word.
“We built a Caterpillar Library wagon, so that we could transport our children’s titles to the reading programme. A small section is dedicated to Singlit authors!”
Last December, Chester and Wen Tong started a children’s journalism programme called Caterpillar Voices. Young journalists undergo a feature writing mentorship before going into the community to conduct interviews and uncover stories about residents in Jurong.
“We are looking for more volunteers to create a sustainable programme,” says Chester.
Most charming community library
In a private residential estate in Serangoon, a white, freshly painted structure that resembles a large birdhouse with a see-through door sits pretty next to a mango tree and lamp post. On closer inspection, the door opens to reveal a small bookcase with self-help books, children’s titles and adult fiction.
Bryan Lim, 30, was inspired after seeing a Little Free Library during a trip to Berkeley, California in 2014. He decided that he would replicate the idea – part of a global movement of building mini libraries outside shopfronts and homes to share free books – outside his home, with the help of some carpenter friends.
“It’s a real joy to see people’s generosity and see them interacting with the project,” said Bryan, who enjoys reading non-fiction titles. “Some people leave books, but don’t take any, while others take and don’t leave any.”
Part of the fun is for people to visit and see what the mini library has to offer. “Sharing books is a wonderful way to share ideas with other people,” he says
The former wedding planner, who now runs an animation studio, still has several bags of donated books on his front porch, waiting to be added to the library.
Book fairies sprinkling reading fairy dust with surprise book drops
It’s not just community libraries that have been popping up around Singapore.
Book Fairies Singapore, the local chapter of the global movement, has been hiding books (often new copies), around Singapore since 2017.
The books are marked with a striking green and white sticker on the cover of the book, which says ‘take this book, read it and leave it for the next person to enjoy’.
Some book fairies go the extra mile to dress up the book like a gift, with ribbons, dried flowers, handmade bookmarks or a special message.
Chief book fairy, Petra Sanders and her family, moved from Germany to live in Singapore years ago. Her twin 17-year-old sons were born here.
She found out about the movement on social media in 2017 and reached out to the founder of Book Fairies, based in the United Kingdom. Within a few months, the Singapore chapter was started.
“When I started this, there was a notion that ‘Singaporeans don’t read’. I don’t share this opinion. I’ve met so many avid readers through the Book Fairies, and I absolutely love attending events like the Singapore’s Writers Festival,” Petra tells The Pride.
Today, there are 10 to 12 committed book fairies in Singapore, who do regular book drops. Last year, these fairies carried out one book drop a day on average despite Covid-19 restrictions.
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The idea of ‘books finding their readers’ is reward enough for the book fairies.
“I hardly ever read a book twice, so this is a good way to share the book with someone else. I also want to inspire people to read for leisure,” says Petra.
Some finders are unsure about whether a book with the Book Fairy sticker is really free. “People are still suspicious, and are not sure if they can really take the book, and they look around to see if they are being pranked,” says Petra.
Fellow book fairy Sadie-Jane Nunis agrees.
“I’ve had people hand me back my books, thinking that I’ve forgotten it. Then I have to explain that it’s a giveaway and they look at me like I’m cuckoo. This happens wherever I’ve made book drops – not just in Singapore but everywhere else, Asia or USA.”
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The book fairy movement here has also been supported by local book retailers, Books Actually and Definitely Books. Well-known authors like Amanda Lee Koe, who dropped her book Delayed Rays of a Star in 2019, have also become book fairies for a day.
One of the largest international book drop campaigns was led by actress Emma Watson in 2019 in celebration of the movie Little Women and helped popularise the movement.
Sadie-Jane, who is the Head Librarian and Publications Head at Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), says: “The Little Women bookdrop event was so fun and exciting, and one of the most dramatic drops that I have made thus far. Many book fairies, myself included, were practically stalked! It made me so happy that so many people wanted copies of one of my favourite reads.”
Anyone can be a book fairy. If you’d like to be one, visit https://ibelieveinbookfairies.com/ to find out more.
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