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Another Little Free Library joined the list of book lenders when Becky and Vance Walgrave added one at Those Blasted Things, their business on South Highway 75.
But the Walgrave library revealed a more unusual shape than the previous libraries when it debuted last week.
“We talked about it (a Little Free Library) for a long time, and we decided it must be a nutcracker,” Becky said.
The nutcracker-shaped library honors the most common question visitors ask the Walgraves at their information center and gift shop. “Where are the nutcrackers?” they ask about the 4,000-piece collection in the History Center downtown Luverne.
While Bryce Brands of Luverne constructed the almost 7-foot-tall library for the Walgraves, their daughter Katie painted the structure with some input from her mother.
“We wanted a more traditional-colored one (like a soldier),” Becky said.
Katie, however, wanted more “bling,” which she added in a small way.
The “bling” to the paint job was a gold tooth Katie gave the nutcracker instead of the more common all-white teeth.
The nutcracker’s name, “Book’em Danno,” was under the glass-fronted book cabinet. The name plays on the library theme and the popular phrase from the television show “Hawaii 5-0.”
The Walgraves are avid readers and the library is already well stocked with both paperback and hardcover books.
On Saturday a ribbon-cutting, conducted by the Luverne Area Chamber, welcomed the newest Little Free Library in the Luverne area.
Typically Little Free Libraries are mounted on posts dug into the ground. The Walgrave creation is freestanding and is bolted to the wall near their business’s front door.
“We wanted him under some protection because we get a lot of wind out here,” Becky said.
Anyone can borrow and/or leave a book at any of the Little Free Library locations. A map of registered library locations is available at www.littlefreelibrary.org.