Have you heard about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library? It is a FABUUU program in which EVERY child in enrolled counties from birth to age 5 receives one FREE book per MONTH in the mail!
How amazingly cool is that?
I remember hearing about it, but, it was launched nationwide when my youngest was four, and by that time – we had SOOOO many books in the house! Ya’ll know me! Heehee!
Dolly started the program in 1996 in the county where she is from, in order to foster a love of reading among the preschoolers and their families. That’s my kinda girl! 
The program was such a smashing success, that it was launched nationwide in 2000.
Each community gets sponsors to help pay for the program.
Then *from the Imagination Library website*….
“The community pays for the books and mailing, promotes the program, registers the children, and enters the information into the database. From there The Dollywood Foundation takes over and manages the system to deliver the books to the home.”
In my community, the program is handled through the United Way.
You can find the main site here: Imagination Library.
Now – let me tell you what sad thing got me thinking about all of this. My local paper ran an article about the program in my county.
Here is where Mrs. Booky-Bookworm gets very, very sad.
Of all the precious potential Jr. Bookworms, birth to age 5, in my county – less than 10% of them are signed up and receiving their monthly book!
What?!
What?!
Oh me, oh my – that is just way too sad!
I am going to research it further and see what we can do around here to pick that number up – and you go check out the program in your county, ok?
Oh – check this out…the first book the children receive is ‘The Little Engine That Could’ (one of my favorites!) and the last book they receive is ‘Look Out Kindergarten Here I Come’. I am loving this program the more I read about it – those are two awesome books!
The website itself is so cute, with a train theme (fitting) and on the homepage, Dolly is sitting in a little box-thing with five sweet little children and on the box, it says,
*DREAM MORE * LEARN MORE * CARE MORE * BE MORE *
Very, very cool! (I know, I said that already, but, it is!)
You know, Dolly and Oprah – two fine and fabulous women, who didn’t have children of their own, but, sure have given a lot to – and helped a lot of – children all over the world! Gotta love ‘em!
Now…
GO READ A BOOK!
