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| Happy International Children's Book Day |
Today we celebrate International Children's Book Day as we prepare to mail free books to hundreds of thousands of children around the world. Our founder, legendary icon, Dolly Parton fell in love with reading at a young age. Inspired by her father’s inability to read, Dolly launched her Imagination Library, a book gifting program for children in Sevier County, Tennessee. Her vision was to inspire a lifelong love of reading in children from birth.
“Because of the kindness and generosity of hundreds of local organizations and companies my little program continues to expand all around the world. You can never get enough books in the hands of enough children,” Dolly said.
What started as a local effort in Dolly’s home county, now spans four countries and has mailed more than 66 million free, age-appropriate books to children enrolled in the program. Titles include a multitude of popular children’s books beginning with Dolly's personal favorite "The Little Engine That Could" by Watty Piper.
*All titles published exclusively by Penguin Random House.
As the world celebrates this day devoted to children's books, authors, illustrators, beloved characters and the joy they all bring, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is preparing its monthly shipment of over 800,000 free children’s books.
She may be the Queen of Country Music but to millions of children Dolly Parton is affectionately known as The Book Lady, a title that brought her father great joy.
Watch as Dolly talks about starting the program and what it meant to her father.
Dolly Parton explains the inspiration behind her Imagination Library, a book gifting program that mails free, age-appropriate books to registered children from birth to age five.
Posted by Dolly Parton's Imagination Library on Thursday, April 2, 2015
This year alone, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States will mail over 9.5 million books.
*For a complete list of books to be mailed in 2015, click here.- To check out program availability and for more information about bringing Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to the children in your community, please visit ImaginationLibrary.com.
- Find out more about the history of Dolly’s Imagination Library at DollyParton.com
- Click here for fun activities for children's books from Penguin Random House
- Subscribe to Penguin Kids YouTube
“Dream More, Learn More, Care More, Be More” --Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
