Sheboygan Little Libraries

We found a little free library outside the Kohler Art Center. I think its little front porch is a nod to the Italianate home built by John Michael Kohler that was donated by the Kohler Foundation to the Sheboygan Arts Foundation and became the art center in the late 1960’s. While there have been two additions since the house is still an important gallery space for the museum.

The little free library had a couple of surprises inside.

I don’t know who the picture is of. It isn’t labeled and I thought I might be able to find out by looking up the box number on the little free library site but it didn’t seem to be registered.

The other surprise was what I found in the box – a catalog still wrapped in shrink wrap from the inaugural exhibit of the works of folk artist Earl Cunningham at The Mennello Museum of American Folk Art in Orlando, Florida in 1998. The museum which was built to house the Menello’s collection of Earl Cunningham’s work has since expanded it’s collection and dropped the “folk” from it’s name but is still the home of Cunningham’s paintings. I had not seen his work before so finding the book made our visit to the art center even richer!

On our way to the Bookworm Gardens we found another little free library with a beautiful painting on the outside.

We didn’t find any books we wanted in the inside of this library but at Bookworm Gardens we found many beautiful gardens inspired by children’s books. I only took pictures of a few of them.

Little House in the Big Woods

Peter Rabbit

The Three Little Pigs

Many of the gardens didn’t seem to have their main characters so I was glad to see Horton.

The largest and most elaborate scene was of a book I had never heard of titled “Conor the Caddie” which turned out to be set at the golf course in Kohler.

The Bookworm Gardens had its own little libraries with the garden’s featured books rebound for Garden reading.