Somerset second-grader inspires with Little Free Library

When all seems lost in the world, there’s always a nice dose of good news to get us through the week. In Somerset, WI one little girl encountered a problem and decided to fix it for others.

Seven-year-old Leah Kotosky’s house is full of excitement. From lizards, dogs, and two rambunctious brothers, it’s safe to say there are not many dull moments at the second-grader’s home.

Still, Leah tries to sit quietly in the corner of the living room, sitting in her mother’s lap, working on her reading skills.

Leah’s mom, Kaleigh Kotosky, tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that reading hasn’t always come easy for her daughter, who has autism. Though, Leah’s love for stories kept her determined.

After a lot of time spent trying, practicing, and working her way through more and more books, the seven-year-old is now sounding out big words like a pro.

Her passion for picking up books even lead Leah away from a popular playground and towards what looked like a Little Free Library in Osceola. But when she got closer, she realized the books weren’t for kids, there wasn’t anything for her inside the public bookcase.

Again, the challenge enticed Leah.

Without knowing it, the second-grade girl from Somerset started detailing her own story.

“I decided to put out my library,” Leah said, cross-legged in front of her own bookcase at home.

Leah decided she was going to build her own.

With some markers and a great imagination, she designed, colored and dreamed up a pretty and pink Little Free Library.

In less than a week, Leah’s blueprint was turned into reality.

“The slanted roof is for when it rains,” Leah said, explaining her design.

Leah and her mother shared the design and her wishes with her grandfather, Michael Rein, who has worked with wood as a cabinet-maker for decades.

“It took some wood and some like glass,” Leah pointed to her finished product.

Of course, the power tools were left to her grandpa. Leah did help sand the wood her grandpa added.

In one picture, Leah is also helping paint the pink and magenta case which soon would house dozens of children’s books. Her mother says Leah chose pink because she believed the color would make others happy.

With a little note of what Leah was doing for the community, Leah’s mom posted on Facebook to spread the word and ask others to donate their children’s books so others could pass on their used books.

“Some of these, I didn’t even put in,” Leah said with excitement as she looked inside her new and over-flowing addition to the Whispering Pines neighborhood.

Her grandfather proudly said the seven-year-old has always had a big heart.

“She’s always thinking about other people and what she can do to help them,” Rein said.