Governor John Carney and First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney today joined American icon Dolly Parton to announce the statewide expansion of her namesake Imagination Library book gifting program and to encourage parents of young children across Delaware to participate. Dolly said,
“I am so excited to be working with Governor and First Lady Carney to bring my Imagination Library to children and families across Delaware! It takes visionary leaders to make this possible, and I can’t thank them enough. It is such an important time to share the gift of books and reading with as many children as we can, and I know Delaware families will love receiving a specially selected book in the mail each month.”
Children whose parents enroll them in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library through Delaware libraries receive one new book in the mail each month from birth until the child’s fifth birthday at no cost to the family, creating a personal library of as many as 60 books that can help form the foundation of a child’s early reading experience. Information and registration are available online via the Delaware Division of Libraries.
Books are selected by a national panel of early childhood literacy experts who review hundreds of children’s books each year and choose those that best fit the needs of children as they learn and grow.
“A healthy reading habit motivates, inspires and encourages creativity among children and adults alike,” said Delaware Governor John Carney. “One of the most important things we can do to improve childhood literacy is to give our children access to books, especially during this challenging time. It’s a simple but powerful idea. That’s why Delaware is proud to partner with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library to improve literacy in our state. I want to thank our state librarian, Annie Norman, and my wife, Tracey, for spearheading this important effort in Delaware.”
Governor Carney announced a pilot launch of the Imagination Library program in five Delaware school districts in his 2020 State of the State address. Beginning in February, the Division of Libraries partnered with 13 local public libraries to make the program available to families within the pilot districts. So far, more than 3,800 children have been enrolled in the program and received more than 16,000 books.
The Imagination Library program is also an important component of the First Chance Delaware initiative for children, led by First Lady Carney. The mission of First Chance Delaware includes promoting learning readiness through literacy and parent-child engagement.
“It’s a great privilege for me to serve as the honorary chair of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program in Delaware,” said First Lady Carney. “The quantity and quality of early language experience, starting at birth, correlates to children’s academic success at ages nine and 10—the target of our state’s grade-level reading campaign—which then correlates to the likelihood of high-school graduation, which correlates to virtually every positive life outcome from then on. Expanding the Imagination Library program in Delaware is a great investment in our families and in our future.”
For public libraries across Delaware, the Imagination Library program will serve as a springboard for children and parents to engage with their local libraries, participate in library programming and take advantage of the many resources libraries have to offer.
“It’s never too early to start reading to children,” said Delaware State Librarian Dr. Annie Norman. “Kids who read succeed! Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library helps develop the reading and library habit, a foundation for success throughout life.”
Parents who enrolled their children with the Imagination Library earlier this year through pilot school districts have already reported positive results, especially in light of the changes to daily lives and routines as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The books we have received have helped a lot with his vocabulary and his ability to express himself,” said Lewes mom Ashely Durden about her son Quentin, who has been enrolled in the Imagination Library Program for the last two years. “Thank you for bringing reading to everyone in our district and our state; it’s a really great resource to get new books to children at a very young age.”
Visit Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
As part of CBS's new School Matters series, Dolly Parton will be on "CBS This Morning" on Monday, Aug. 17, 2020, during the 8 AM (EST) hour. Dolly will talk about her Imagination Library and how the program's efforts contribute to education and learning.
Each month Dolly Parton's Imagination Library gifts a free, high-quality book to registered children. Once a year, a specially selected panel of early childhood literacy experts reviews hundreds of potential titles for inclusion in the Imagination Library. This panel takes great care in choosing books that meet the different needs of children as they progress from birth to age five. To date, the Imagination Library has gifted over 140 million free books to children around the world.
Recent studies suggest participation in the Imagination Library is positively and significantly associated with higher measures of early language and math development.
CBS This Morning - School Matters Series
It's widely known that Dolly Parton launched her Imagination Library in 1995. Inspired by her father's limited education, Dolly was and is dedicated to sharing a love of reading with children everywhere. So she started a book gifting program which mails a free book to enrolled children each month. Over the years, the Imagination Library has celebrated many milestones including the 100th Millionth Book Dedication at the Library of Congress in 2018.
In 2020, the Imagination Library has already seen one record-breaking month back in March and with totals already counted, that record will be broken in September.
In March, new child registrations totaled 77,885. In September of 2020 (because the program runs one month ahead) new child registrations will exceed 78,000. Remember, these are new children registered into the program for a single month. To date, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has gifted 141,840,454 free books to children around the world.
Special thanks to the program's local affiliates who are made up of dedicated individuals, many who volunteer their time, to help bring free books to the children in their communities.
Parents and guardians of children under 5 years old, who have not yet been enrolled in the program, can visit the Imagination Library to check availability.
During the nationwide shutdown, Dolly spent some time creating an online video series dedicated to children and their families. The series, "Goodnight with Dolly" featured weekly readings of specially selected books from the program. Dolly welcomes the viewers and introduces the title, author and illustrator. Snuggled in bed with her Imagination Library book, Dolly shares stories that are just right for this moment in time. The series is a personal gift from Dolly to all families. Free of charge but not free from obligation as the message will be to pass on the love and keep hope alive because we are all "Together, You and I."
This exclusive video series is available free of charge online until August 31, 2020.
Watch "Goodnight With Dolly"
UPDATE: Thank you for watching "Goodnight with Dolly." We hope you enjoyed the read-aloud series and invite you to learn more about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
The Imagination Library has gifted over 138 million free books to children around the world. Learn how to Register A Child or Make A Donation online.
Dolly Parton will close her 10-week bedtime reading series with a special finale episode that includes a tribute to the more than 1700 local organizations that offer her Imagination Library to the children in their community. Since inception in 1995, the Imagination Library through its local affiliates has gifted more than 138 million books to preschool children and is currently gifting books to 1.6 million children around the world each month.
“The local affiliates are the heart and soul of the Imagination Library”, said Parton. “They work hard every day to raise the funds to make sure the books remain free to all of the children enrolled in the program.”
The series began on April 2, 2020 with The Little Engine that Could® and will conclude June 4. The series has been viewed over 15 million times on YouTube, Facebook and other popular social media platforms.
The finale episode features Pass It On written and illustrated by Sophy Henn. This book was specifically selected to end the series because it encourages all children and adults to share their joy, their happiness and their kindness with others.
Dolly Parton said, “I am thrilled this series has meant so much to so many families across the world. I hope our finale episode, ‘Pass It On,’ will be another way for us to transform this moment of hardship into more love and more kindness.”
The finale concludes with the re-release of the trailer for the documentary “The Library That Dolly Built.” The film was scheduled for a nationwide release on April 2, 2020, but was postponed because of the spread of COVID-19. The film will be released in late September of 2020.
Visit Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Online
THE LIBRARY THAT DOLLY BUILT, directed and produced by journalism professor and director of Land Grant Films Nick Geidner, and narrated by Danica McKellar, goes behind the scenes of Dolly Parton’s literacy-focused non-profit, Imagination Library, to show how one of the most famous and beloved performers in the world has developed an efficient and effective program for spreading the love of reading. Imagination Library started as a gift for the children in Dolly’s hometown, Sevierville, Tennessee, and is now active in all 50 states, and 5 countries, gifting more than 1.6 million free, age-appropriate books to children every month. The film also provides a glimpse of the profound impact the Imagination Library has on the people through original interviews with authors, policymakers, Imagination Library staff, recipients, and the legend herself, Dolly Parton. Woven throughout the film is a biographical sketch of Dolly Parton, featuring rare photos and films from her childhood. Unlike most biographies of Dolly, it doesn’t focus on her music. Instead, it demonstrates that at every point in her career, any time she has had success, Dolly Parton has come back to Sevierville to give back to her people.
UPDATE: Thank you for watching "Goodnight with Dolly." We hope you enjoyed the read-aloud series and invite you to learn more about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.
The Imagination Library has gifted over 138 million free books to children around the world. Learn how to Register A Child or Make A Donation online.
Dollywood and Abramorama in association with The Dollywood Foundation announced today that beginning on Thursday, April 2, at 7:00 PM EDT, Dolly Parton will be reading a children’s book for bedtime in a series entitled “Goodnight with Dolly.” Additionally, the documentary about her Imagination Library "The Library That Dolly Built" will open nationally the week of September 21, to commemorate the Library’s 25th anniversary. Since inception in 1995, the Imagination Library has gifted more than 135 million books to children and is currently gifting books to 1.5 million children around the world each month.
“Goodnight with Dolly” will feature Dolly Parton reading a series of Imagination Library books all carefully chosen for their appropriate content at this moment in time. Dolly welcomes the viewers and introduces the title, author and illustrator. Snuggled in bed with her Imagination Library book, Dolly shares stories that are just right for this moment in time. The readings will be a mixture of Dolly and the interior pages of the books. The books will include “There’s a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake” by Loren Long, “Llama Llama Red Pajama” by Anna Dewdney, “I Am a Rainbow” by Dolly Parton, “Pass It On” by Sophy Henn, “Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon” by Patty Lovell, “Violet the Pilot” by Steve Breen, “Max & The Tag-Along Moon” by Floyd Cooper, “Last Stop on Market Street” by Matt de la Peña, “Coat of Many Colors” by Dolly Parton, and of course, “The Little Engine That Could” by Watty Piper.
Once a week for 10 weeks at 7:00 PM EDT, The Book Lady will deliver her story with the program available across the Imagination Library, Dolly Parton, World Choice Investments, and Dollywood channels. The read alongs will be a personal gift from Dolly to all families. Free of charge but not free from obligation as the message will be to pass on the love and keep hope alive because we are all Together, You and I.
Dolly Parton said, “This is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while, but the timing never felt quite right. I think it is pretty clear that now is the time to share a story and to share some love. It is an honor for me to share the incredible talent of these authors and illustrators. They make us smile, they make us laugh and they make us think."
Regarding the film’s release, she adds, “Although it was the right thing to do, postponing the screening of our documentary was a disappointment. So many of our Imagination Library affiliates had organized events around the nationwide screenings, however, things do have a way of working out so the documentary will still have its day.”
Copyright 1976, 1961, 1954, 1945, 1930 by Penguin Random House, LLC. Illustrations copyright 2020 by Penguin Random House, LLC.
