Glen Ellyn students create their own Little Free Library at school

A student council project at Forest Glen Elementary School was one for the books.

A Little Free Library has popped up on the Glen Ellyn campus, just in time for summer reading season.

The project started as a student council idea “focused on creating a lasting and meaningful way to support literacy and bring the school community together,” Forest Glen first-grade teacher and student council sponsor Becky VanDyke noted.

“Student Council members wanted to provide easier access to books for students and families while encouraging a lifelong love of reading,” VanDyke wrote in a statement. “We hope it is a welcoming place where community members can ‘take a book, share a book,’ and enjoy the power of stories together.”

Students worked together to bring the project to life through research, attending PTA meetings to share their ideas and filling it with books of their own, she explained.

VanDyke — named the Glen Ellyn School District 41 Educator of the Year at the Glen Ellyn Community Awards celebration in 2021 — and students recently unveiled the free book exchange.

“Leading With Kindness,” read their student council T-shirts.

Demonstrating that motto, students celebrated the opening of the Little Free Library, painted an eye-catching blue, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Set up on Elm Street, the library welcomes readers to pick up a book and pay it forward by replenishing the shelves.