ARLINGTON, Va. — Hold on to your hockey stick, the Washington Capitals have decided to get into the library business.
The Capitals have become the first NHL hockey team to launch a Little Free Library. You'll find it in the lobby of the MedStar Capitals Iceplex, the team's practice facility on North Glebe Road in Arlington.
Not sure what a Little Free Library is? Look around your neighborhood. It's that small box full of books, sitting atop a pole. Take any book you like, and leave one if you can. These pint-sized libraries are found in all 50 states and around the world.
And now, at the Capitals Iceplex, too. The Capitals Little Free Library contains books for all ages. It includes titles written by Capitals alumni. And it offers books that Capitals players consider their favorites, including some they've read to their children.
Anyone can take a book and keep it. But in order to keep the library full, fans are encouraged to share a book each time they take one.
Hockey titles included in the Capitals Little Free Library launch include:
- As Fast As Her: Dream Big, Break Barriers, Achieve Success by Kendall Coyne
- Game Change: The Life and Death of Steve Montador, and the Future of Hockey by Ken Dryden
- The Bulliest Dozer by Capitals alumnus Eric Fehr
- Dare to Make History: Chasing a Dream and Fighting for Equity by Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson and Monique Lamoureux-Morando
- Hockey Moms: The Heart of the Game by Theresa Bailey and Terry Marcotte
- The Unforgettable Story of Hockey’s Forgotten 60-Goal Man by Capitals alumnus Dennis Maruk
- Hockey's Hidden Gods: The Untold Story of a Paralympic Miracle on Ice by S.C. Megale
- Z is for Zamboni: A Hockey Alphabet by Matt Napier
- NHL Mascots and Friends by Holly Preston
- 100 Things Capitals Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die: Stanley Cup Edition by Capitals radio host Ben Raby, featuring foreword by Capitals alumnus Craig Laughlin
- Brady Brady: All-Star Hockey Collection by Mary Shaw
- FIGHTER: Defying the NHL Odds by Capitals alumnus Aaron Volpatti
- Hockey is for Everybody: Anthony’s Goal by Anthony Walsh
Player selections that will be included in the Capitals Little Free Library launch are:
- Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson – selected by Connor Brown
- The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister – selected by Nic Dowd, last read to his son
- Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things are Better Than You Think - by Hans Rosling – selected by Lars Eller
- Twelve and a Half: Leveraging the Emotional Ingredients Necessary for Business Success by Gary Vaynerchuk – selected by Carl Hagelin
- The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson – selected by Garnet Hathaway, last read to his son
- Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan – selected by Darcy Kuemper
- Wins Losses and Lessons: An Autobiography by Lou Holtz – selected by Charlie Lindgren
- Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey – selected by T.J. Oshie
- Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault – selected by Trevor van Riemsdyk, last read to his niece
- Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World by Tim Marshall – selected by Joe Snively
- Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown – selected by Dylan Strome, last read to his daughter
- A Marine, a Stray Dog, and Now they Rescued Each Other by Craig Grossi – selected by Tom Wilson
The Little Free Library is an extension of the Caps in School Reading Program, which encourages students to read more everyday. More information on Little Free Library can be found at littlefreelibrary.org. To learn more about Caps in School, visit washcaps.com/capsinschool.