CAPE MAY – When Christine Hulse decided to retire after 32 years of teaching – the last 18 as a kindergarten teacher – she inherited a large cache of children’s books.

Hulse retired in 2021 from her job in Fairfax County, Virginia, and found she had 12 to 15 milk crates full of children’s books. This was when schools in Fairfax County were still at least partially shut down from Covid, so she had no children or colleagues to receive the books.

She and her husband, Glenn, who retired from the U.S. Army, ended up doing what any happily retired couple would do – they transported the books to their home in Cape May. Christine, however, had a plan in mind.

When the couple’s three adult children – Natalie, Shane and Patrick – asked what they wanted for a retirement gift, Christine Hulse said she wanted a “little library.”

Specifically, she was talking about a Little Free Library (littlefreelibrary.org), which would be a part of the national nonprofit organization that promotes the installation of post-mounted boxes, called Little Free Libraries, where the public can take or leave books.

Todd H. Bol built the first Little Free Library in 2009, as a tribute to his mother who had passed away. The original concept was to stock Little Free Libraries with books the owner(s) enjoyed and wanted to share with others.

The aim of Little Free Libraries has shifted to provide free books wherever there is a need. Little Free Libraries come in shapes and sizes that are as varied as the people who have them installed in front of their homes.

Hulse said some people just install a box in front of their homes, but Little Free Library asks people to register their library with them, so they can list the location on their website.

Hulse said her son, Patrick, is an artist and illustrator and he created their little library to look just like their home, including having an awning on the front.

“My son put a lot of work into (the Little Free Library). He even painted the shingles to match the color of our house,” Hulse said.

Hulse said Cape May-based musician Geno White referred to their house as “the happy house” after they moved there. Their Little Free Library, besides looking like their house, carries the same name, “Happy House Books for Kids.”

Hulse said she checks the Little Free Library daily to make sure it is filled. Part of the thrill, she said, is seeing the children excited about picking out a book.

“Put books in children’s hands. Promote literacy,” she said.

“I haven’t seen a lot of children bring books to the beach, but now, because we are a thoroughfare to the beach, they stop by and you hear them picking out a book. There is nothing more fun than seeing kids come by in their pajamas picking out a book to take back to their rental,” Hulse said.

There is also an element of reciprocity to having a Little Free Library. Hulse said she sometimes finds the library is bare, and then she will go out and find a box of books left for her to add to the library. She believes she was giving away 75 to 100 books per week over the last 12 weeks, calling it a banner year.

“Sometimes there are lovely notes from the community,” she said.

And just when she starts to think she is going to have to look for more good books, someone from the community makes a donation.

When asked if she had a favorite children’s book when she was growing up, Hulse said it was probably, “Katy No-Pocket,” written by Emmy Payne and first published in 1944, or “Harry the Dirty Dog,” written by Gene Zion and published in 1956.

The Hulses’ Little Free Library is located at 409 Jefferson Ave., Cape May. Feel free to take or leave a good book.

Contact the author, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 128.