- Pizza Hut is partnering with Little Free Library to introduce limited-edition neighborhood book exchanges modeled after its iconic red-roof restaurants.
- The Little Hut Libraries will come stocked with books and, while supplies last, select Personal Pan Pizza gift cards, building on Pizza Hut’s decades-long connection to reading.
- The partnership highlights community book access as Little Free Library encourages readers to share banned and challenged titles.
Free books, pizza
Pizza Hut is giving its familiar red roofs a new purpose: sheltering books for neighbors to share. The company’s partnership with Little Free Library introduces miniature book exchanges designed to resemble Pizza Hut restaurants.
The libraries will include books and, while supplies last, select Personal Pan Pizza gift cards.The fall launch celebrates National Book Month and National Pizza Month, both observed in October.
A nod to BOOK IT!
The collaboration builds on Pizza Hut’s BOOK IT! program, which has paired reading achievements with Personal Pan Pizzas since 1984. The Little Hut Libraries extend that connection beyond reading rewards by creating neighborhood spaces where people can find and share books.
Access amid bans
The partnership also highlights a broader issue: who has access to books and which stories remain available. Little Free Library identifies expanding book access as central to its mission. The organization also encourages people to share banned and challenged books through neighborhood exchanges.
Its book ban map, developed with data from PEN America and the American Library Association, helps users locate areas affected by bans and nearby Little Free Library boxes. The map distinguishes between PEN America’s school book ban data and the association’s data on attempted bans and challenged titles.
Ways to act
Interested participants can share banned books through a Little Free Library, use its book ban map, display supportive signage, follow American Library Association coverage or donate to help make all books accessible.
The bigger question
How can innovative ideas like Little Hut Libraries help communities push back against book bans?
The stats
Little Free Library reports that its broader book-sharing network includes:
- More than 200,000 libraries.
- Locations in 128 countries.
- About 500 million books shared.
Additional resources
- Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library: Free monthly books for children from birth to age 5.
- First Book: Free and discounted books for eligible educators, libraries and community programs.
- Reach Out and Read: Free books through pediatric well-child visits.
- Little Free Library Impact Library Program: No-cost book-sharing boxes for communities where books are scarce.
