Community Book Box

What a sweet little book box. I love it! There were tons and tons of books, and a vast variety of…read moretitles and genres. The steward has also added some School supplies for the children including pencils, sharpeners, bookmarks, markers and crayons. I love that its run by "Grandma" and I love her story, taken from a 2017 Valley Breeze Article: "Arlene Smith, another steward from Cumberland, says her Little Free Library at 56 Crestwood Court "gave [her] a new purpose in life" after her children and grandchildren had all grown up. "Very few books ever come back, and I don't mind that," she said of the free book exchange. "One of the things that stands out is the freedom of [the Little Free Library]. ... There's no having to check out books and return them." Smith's Little Free Library was a gift from her nine grandchildren (Christa, Kayleigh, Trevor, Ethan, Brittney, Bekka, Bryan, Jacob, and Owen) and her one great-grandson, Charlie, earning it the name "Grandma's Library." One of the biggest benefits of having a Little Free Library, according to Smith, is that it brings her neighborhood together. One family, frequent visitors of Grandma's Library, visited Smith around Christmas-time with a tray of cookies to express their gratitude for all she has done for the community. One little girl in the neighborhood approached Smith last summer to ask if she could volunteer at Grandma's Library, and Smith let her come by once a day to straighten, organize, and clean the little wooden box."

Little Free Library

Deep in a residential neighborhood, this Little Free library has two boxes. They are some sort of…read moreextruded plastic thing and both are in very good condition. I don't know if I've ever seen an LFL with "two" libraries. Between them is a bench to rest. There is street parking here so you can rest your vehicle while you browse. Mostly paperbacks and some children's books. I haven't read Charles Krauthammer's book so that would have been my main choice today. This is charter number 100313 and the steward is the Dewar-Scotti Family. [Review 15294 overall, 796 of 2021, number 55 in Rhode Island.]

Little Free Library

I love Little Free Libraries and was thrilled to find one in Massachusetts. In fact right next to…read morethe welcome sign for the town of Sandwich. Unfortunately nearly everything inside this one was dippy romance novels. Not for me. But I'm encouraged by people's willingness to donate reading material and I'm hopeful for a more discerning selection.

Chase Farm's Little Free Library

This is a very beautiful well made and hand painted book box made and in dedication to Michele…read moreJeffrey. It is a certified non-profit Little Free Library Charter #69974. It is located directly on Chase Farm in between the blacksmith shop and the schoolhouse. There is plenty of parking in either of the Lots but you will have to get out of your car and walk about 50 yards to the Box itself. There's a nice picnic table and plenty of shaded area to sit and enjoy and the scenery and farm itself is to die for as far as visuals. It's far enough off the street where you don't have to worry about traffic, and to the best of my knowledge it is dog friendly if they are leashed. There is a good selection of children's books and since we just added to it there are plenty more now. There is also a handful of adult and preteen books as well. I love that the book box is hand-painted and themes towards music as a nod to Michele love of singing. And true worldly form, the birds are chirping today.

Town of Wellesley Recycling and Disposal Facility

It may be hard to imagine the people of Wellesley bringing their trash in their BMW suv's to a…read morerecycling facility and using their bare hands to sort one color of glass from another, one type of plastic from another, one type of paper from another, and toss them into giant bins. But that's exactly what happens here. People do the right thing, and it helps the town and the environment. Also, there's no city trash pickup in Wellesley, so if you don't use this facility, you have to pay for private home service. You can also dispose of household and construction and garden waste, paint once a month, and there's a sort of "swap" area for old toys and other small items, like a yard sale, but free. There's also a book exchange. Be careful, it can be dangerous for kids with all the glass and plastic and cars around. Open to Wellesley residents with the appropriate car sticker.

Wrentham Outlets Little Free Library

3.0

What an odd place for a Little Library. This was a chance find. Given that it is smack dab in the…read moremiddle of a shopping center, I wonder how much love it actually sees. It is definitely not aimed towards children but it would be great to see a sitting area and a variety of selections. I know my child could use the break from walking and shopping. It is a traditional book box, nothing overly fancy. Nice to find it here!

Little Free Library

This Little Free Library is located near the Temple Kol Tikvah. It is a green and white box with…read morewood shingles and looks a lot like an actual house. It is on a single post and has one door. Inside, two shelves that were reasonably stacked with hardcover and softcover books. Nothing that caught my fancy today. This is charter number 36474 and the steward is Jayne Bradley. The caption online reads, "The Social Action team of Temple Kol Tikvah designed and built this Little Free Library as gift to the community. We hope our neighborhood will enjoy it!" There is parking where you can stop and browse. [Review 15256 overall, 758 of 2021, number 1115 in Massachusetts.]

Little Free Library

(2 reviews)

What a fun sighting! Located in The Citadel plaza, this pink box welcomes visitors at the…read moreentrance. The box is sponsored by the restaurant, Little Snitch. I saw a selection of adult novels. Help yourself to a free book or leave a book for another person to read. Parking available.

This is my favorite Little Free Library thus far. It's located in the Garden City Center in…read moreCranston, RI. It's right on the corner where the Madewell store is. It's my favorite because it is the largest LFL I've seen and it's inside of a retro gasoline pump. There were five shelves that were organized and fully stocked. I found some books I've been wanting to read and a classic that I've read before (The Great Gatsby). It's in a great location with plenty of foot traffic. There are plenty of parking in the area. If you're in the area and love books, I recommend you stop and check it out!

AJ's Little Free Library Carter

We are in love with this little Free Library. Mostly because it's run by a young adult with a good…read moretaste in baseball. AJ's Little library is well-maintained and baseball themed. It is geared towards all ages, but there is quite a number of books for preteen boys. That's a nice change from the other locations that we have visited. As are 90% of the other book boxes, it is street parking. This location is on a nice side road so you don't need to be afraid of too much traffic. The neighborhood is absolutely gorgeous, and the scenery around it is to die for. The owner has his own business cards and stamps that mention where the book has visited. A job well done! KEEP IT UP!

B & B Pest Control

4.8

(165 reviews)

Had a great experience working with Gerry. He was very accommodating, easy to talk to, and…read moregenuinely willing to help with our situation. He was able to get someone out to us the very next day, which we really appreciated. The whole process was smooth and stress-free, and the quick response made a big difference.

Very responsive to a backyard rat issue brought on by neighborhood construction. Prompt, articulate…read moreworkers.

3 Wave Cleaning

(35 reviews)

I am very happy with my experience with 3 Wave Cleaning. I got a response almost immediately and…read morequickly got an appointment set up within 48 hours of my request. Matt was timely, friendly and was very transparent about what the issue was and how he was correcting it. I will definitely reach out again the next time I need a dryer vent cleaning.

I called 3 Wave Cleaning and got a quote to clean my dryer vent. After shopping around, this was…read morethe lowest quote, especially since our vent is about 30 feet long, and another company charges by the foot. They got me in right away (when I called back the 2nd time to book, they came the same day!). Two nice guys showed up, were here for about 30 minutes, and cleaned the vent. I asked them to take pictures since the work was done in the attic, and I didn't go up there (see attached pics). We had not had them cleaned in about 4 years, and they needed it! On their way out, they quoted me to clean our HVAC vents, which I had not even thought of doing. I will definitely use them again.

Metro Cleaners

4.8

(30 reviews)

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Unless you specifically ask for faster things are usually ready in around a week and always…read moreimpeccably clean. I've brought a few items over the years with various stains or dinginess that I couldn't get out myself and they've always worked wonders. To top it off the place is run by probably one of the nicest people imaginable. Prices I'd say are a a couple dollars higher than other places nearby based on what I've seen but for everything else I've mentioned it's worth it.

Service with a smile! I needed a couple of hems changed on my new jeans and the staff at Metro were…read moreso upbeat and efficient that it made a memorable impression. You don't get such high quality service like this often. The work was top notch and they even matched the original thread so the pants looked like they were perfect. The work was ready when promised and I had just as good an interaction with the counter staff when I picked up my pants as when I dropped them off. It only took a few days! The price was extremely reasonable. I'll definitely be back. Thanks!

Gagnon's Shoe Repair

4.7

(38 reviews)

Service with a smile! my husband has been using the cobbler in Danvers Square for years... After a…read morevery recent interaction where the cobbler not only jacked up his prices but also got verbally argumentative with my husband... We were at a loss. I found this place and great yelp reviews only confirmed my decision. They were spot on. Fair pricing, fast service, incredibly friendly and honest so happy to have found them and support a local business doing it right!

I brought in a $500 pair of shoes to get the strap altered. The man working made a lot of snarky…read morecomments. Some of the comments being "Do you understand how physics works." And " there's no point to alter the strap because your foot will slide." When I handed over the shoe, they were still strapped together. I had offered to help him undo the strap, and he decided to look at me and go "What" with a rude demeanor. He then punched a hole into the strap, not listening to where I wanted. When he handed it back to me to try it on for sizing. I realized that it wouldn't slide anymore because he ripped the inside of the strap. I handed it back to him so he could fix it and instead he decided to cut it more and add another hole. The right shoe now has more holes than the left. When me and my mom were talking he kept saying that the right shoe would need another hole and decided to just punch it in without my knowledge. I didn't think he would do something without my okay, but that was furthest from the truth. He not only didn't apologize for the damages he caused. The whole time that I was in there he seemed very inconvenienced and it felt very rushed. I could tell he just wanted to do it as fast as possible so we would leave him alone. He could have told us that he didn't have time and to either make an appointment or come back later. I am happy I wasn't charged, but he caused damages that I will never be able to fix without having to redo the whole strap. I wouldn't be able to buy this shoe again because they no longer make them. Although the damage may be small to the inside it was more the fact he wasn't kind from the beginning and I never got an apology from his mistakes. I understand that he has done this for a long time and knows what he is talking about however he took what I said and completely disregarded it and chose to do whatever he wanted.

One Call Junk Haul Salem

4.8

(98 reviews)

Decided it was time for an old gross fish tank in my room to go. Requested a quote in the AM,…read moreexpecting a later reply but they got back to me right away! They offered to come to my house that day, but I sadly missed the message. I got back them around 9:30 at night...and they responded 15 minutes later offering to come the next day! They showed up on time with two trucks, but they really only needed one. I did appreciate the fact that they sent two trucks in anticipation of it possibly being a bigger haul. Anyways, they were in and out in like 10 minutes and had cleared everything. The guys who hailed the fish tank out were also very nice. Seriously, I can't recommend this place enough. I did have some working lights from the tank, and some old filter bags which they mentioned they might take for their own fish tank. I hope they got good use out of it!

I can't say enough good about these people.I have used them several times.They always get right…read moreback to you.They are fairly reasonable and always pleasant to deal with. I have a narrow doorway that had recently Been repaired.I expressed my concern that it would be damaged and they were very careful.They came exactly at the scheduled time.I I just wish every business was as easy to deal with.

Community Book Box - communitybookbox - Updated August 2026

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Big Blue Bargains

(2 reviews)

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Swampscott's Big Blue Bargains raises money for charity. They comb through the donations and don't…read moreput out any junk. The hours are limited, but it's worth a trip. I just want to correct what another poster said: Big Blue Bargains is located on Norfolk Ave in Swampscott and the back door of the former Clarke Elementary School (not the Middle School which is on a different street).

I almost want to keep this place all to myself, but I have to share whenever I find a great thrift…read moreshop. I went to Big Blue Bargains today for the first time. They're located on the backside of Swampscott Middle School and the friendly volunteers told me that they've been open for four years. They operate to raise funds for the Swampscott school system. This place is awesome - they have mostly clothes for adults and kiddos, with some small home goods and a smattering of other random items. I got some great stuff and all on the cheap - 2 pair of pants, 2 workout tops, a pair of boots, a backpack, and a couple small decorative items, all for about $20. I'll be visiting this store again, and I hope you will, too! Word to the wise, they're only open Wed mornings and Saturdays until 1 and they seem to be cash only (tho I didn't verify this).

Sutton Home For Women

November 2021 my 95 year old mother became a resident at Sutton Home for Women. I have been…read moreextremely happy with the care that she receives. The staff is more than wonderful; they go out of their way to make the residents happy and comfortable. Whenever my mom needs assistance with anything, someone is always there to help. The director, Barbara, is a godsend; she has gone out of her way to help my mom adjust with her new living environment. Barbara has helped me with many tasks as I live in another state and can't always be available when my mom needs assistance. Mom says the food is delicious and frequently there are delicious home baked treats for dessert. I especially like that the residence is small and has a homey feel. When searching for a residence for my mom, I looked at many places. I believe Sutton Home was definitely the right choice.

Marblehead Council on Aging

3.8

(4 reviews)

I called the Council on Aging to ask if they could recommend a tax accountant. Although they don't…read moreoffer any services, they did provide the information that the AARP comes to the Abbot Library each spring to help seniors with taxes. The COA's response was immediate and helpful.

My elderly father lives in Marblehead. Almost two months ago he contacted the COA for a lock box…read morethat emergency services could use if they ever have to enter his house. He still does not have the lock box. The COA did call him a while ago to check if he had gotten it. He told them no and they still have not had the lock box installed. Hopefully he won't need emergency services before COA gets around to doing their job.

Beyond Walls

After checking out the awesome murals in Salem, I searched for other places we could view outdoor…read moreart, and Beyond Walls in Lynn popped up! We drove over on a Saturday afternoon and easily found parking on Mount Vernon Street. The Beyond Walls website has an interactive map which we tried to follow, but it was a bit difficult, so we ended up just walking around the downtown area. We saw some really beautiful murals, and it got us out to a part of the state that I probably wouldn't have gone to otherwise. The streets weren't always the cleanest, but it was definitely worth the trek - I'd just recommend wearing close-toes shoes. After seeing a good number of murals, we hopped back in the car and parked nearer to the waterfront to walk along Nahant Beach. All in all, a really nice weekend afternoon outing in the time of COVID!

Follow Your Art Community Studios

I have taken two classes and one pottery series at FYA. I love that they make art accessible, I…read morehave been able to use their scholarship program for financial assistance. I enjoyed the two classes but the pottery class has been an amazing experience- I've seen myself improve during the short time I've been a pottery student (I made my first not crooked bowls last night!) and I think I could improve even more with more practice. I like how the pottery class allows for open studio time on top of the class time too, it makes it a better value for me.

MiraMar Print Lab

The service is amazing and people here are so nice! They is a wonderful selection for different…read morepieces of art, and the value is just what the art is worth!

Next Generation Children's Center

4.9

(7 reviews)

Awesome Audience and Super Staff! We were honored to entertain the students and staff with two…read moreshows at Beverly's Next Generation Children's Center with our musical ventriloquist comedy. Special thanks to the children who joined us in the first show to play tambourines, maracas, and drumsticks. In the second show for older children, others volunteered to demonstrate their new ventriloquial skills after choosing a puppet of their choice from the big drum case. Volunteers were encouraged to say their first name into the microphone and try moving the puppet's mouth three times as they said "One, Two, Three" with their new puppet voice. Special thanks to Mr. Jarod, the teacher who volunteered to be our HUMAN DUMMY! He wore our ventriloquist face mask, played the "ringy, dingy, thingy" and "sang" our "No Bully Zone" original song with Chelsea The Chimpanzee. (No, they did not sing at the same time... we're not that good!)

We have been at this daycare for 2 years and have had a wonderful experience. It is a loving and…read morecaring environment. They do "homework" in daycare to ensure they are advancing academically for their age. If there is a concern, such as speech, Lisa will have a discussion to allow you to take the next step. The weekly rate of the daycare is very affordable and includes snack and lunch. Our daughter loves going to this daycare and has made many friends and is right where she should be developmentally. I would highly recommend this facility.

Wakefield Food Pantry

The Wakefield Interfaith Food Pantry is a non-profit organization run by Wakefieldians for…read moreWakefieldians. This volunteer association provides food to any Wakefield resident in need. They have a "supermarket" on the bottom floor of the Americal Civic Center where they host drop in hours. A personal shopper will help you choose your food and check out! It's a great place to get food if you need some, or to volunteer or donate as well. To learn more about it, check out their website and follow them on facebook. Wakefield is lucky to have such a great organization!

The Goddard School of Middleton

(4 reviews)

We love the Goddard school! Our four-year-old daughter has been going to Goddard in Middleton…read moresince spring of 2017. We can't say enough great things about the school and also her teacher Miss Brittany. They offer various programs like soccer and chess and always find ways to keep it interesting for the kids with new fun activities. They have also had guest speakers for the parents and events like a Spring Carnival for the entire family. I was hesitant after reading the review here on Yelp about an abrupt closure a few years back due to staff leaving. The school is under new ownership since reopening and the owners Johann and Mark are wonderful!! I'm so glad we ended up here. This is by far the best child care setting we have experienced.

They are closing their doors with about 4 days notice for parents. Most of the surrounding centers…read moreknew that they were closing before the parents did. I'm truly angry at what transpired here. These kids will have their world, safe haven and friends ripped from them for no good reason what so ever. It was an amazing place and I feel extremely sad for the teachers, kids and parents. We will miss everyone greatly.

Little Treasures Schoolhouse