Each year, the esteemed Book Selection Committee, a specially selected panel of early childhood literacy experts, is responsible for reviewing hundreds of potential titles for inclusion in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. With the new year’s list curated, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is proud to announce the Australian Book List (Australia), the Gold Medal Book Selections (United Kingdom) and the Blue Ribbon Book Selections (United States & Canada). When asked about this year's selections Dolly said,
“My commitment to kids has always been to deliver the very best books right to their doorstep and last year we put over 9 million books in the hands of children and their families. Of course, none of this would be possible without the contributions of these talented authors, illustrators and the hundreds of local partners who love kids as much as I do.”
Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has become the premiere early childhood book gifting program in the world by mailing over 66 million books in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States. Currently the program mails over 820,000 specially selected, age-appropriate books monthly to registered children from birth to age five.
In 2015, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library will mail over 9.5 million books to hundreds of thousands of children across four countries. Recent studies suggest participation in the Imagination Library program is positively and significantly associated with higher measures of early language and math development.
2015 Australian Book List - Australia
2015 Gold Medal Selection List - United Kingdom
2015 Blue Ribbon Book Selections - United States & Canada
All families who receive the gift of Imagination Library books were also presented with a free download of Dolly’s song "I Believe In You" that she wrote for the Imagination Playhouse at Dollywood.
Eleven additional songs will soon be coming for purchase, with 100 percent of sales supporting the longevity of The Dollywood Foundation.
Since becoming a sponsor of Dolly's Imagination Library, Dixie Stampede, in Branson, MO, has seen more than 2,100 children enroll in the program. Dixie Stampede brought the program to Stone and Taney Counties in Missouri in 2000. As of 2013, there were 2,151 children enrolled in the program and more than 27,000 books had been provided to children in those communities.
Imagination Library is a free book gifting program for all pre-school age children in participating communities, including newborns, whose parents register for the program. Each child receives a free, age-appropriate book each month by mail until the age of five. These high-quality books arrive addressed to the child. A child will receive a complete 60-book library if they are enrolled from birth to age five.
Dolly Parton launched her Imagination Library in 1995 in her home county in East Tennessee. She wanted to foster a love of reading among children and get them excited about books and reading. In 2000, the program expanded and became available for replication to any community willing to partner with the efforts. There are currently 36 programs in the state of Missouri.
Pirates Voyage, along with Dixie Stampede, donated to Dolly's Imagination Library.
“This is an investment in the future,”
says Larry McCoy, Director of Marketing at Pirates Voyage.
“With this donation we help build a community of strong readers, who will grow up to be strong leaders.”
Dolly shares the gift of reading with children through her book gifting program that delivers free books to kids from the day they are born until they turn five years old.
During the first week of May, thanks to the efforts of the United Way, Dolly's Imagination Library became available in Australia.
With the expansion, Australia becomes the fourth nation and third continent to join the Imagination Library. Queensland, was the first Aussie community to register children for the program.
It has been suggested in recent publications, that Dolly's Imagination Library might just be her most lasting legacy. The PBS program “NewsHour” featured an interview via “Learning Matters” and Dolly spoke at length of her early childhood literacy dream turned reality.
Imagination Library continued to expand stateside as well. In North Dakota, First Lady Betsy Dalrymple continued her support of the program. In Mississippi, the Power of the Purse fund-raising effort by the United Way of East Mississippi collected enough funds to mail books to 1,000 children a year. In Maryland, “The Delmarva Times” profiles the state's second chapter of the project, sponsored by the United Way of the Lower Eastern Shore. In Missouri, the literacy project will integrate Imagination Library into the Kansas City, North Kansas City, Independence, Shawnee Mission and Center school districts through the United Way of Greater Kansas City's Women's Leadership Council.
