October 2015 Book Titles & Mailing Dates

Visit the Parent Login Area to update your child's information. 

If you do not have access to the Parent Login Area, contact your local affiliate and have them add your valid email address to your child's registration. Your local affiliate's contact info is printed on your book's labels and also available on our website.   

Welcome Book - First book sent to ALL registered children 

"The Little Engine That Could" Written by Watty Piper & Illustrated by George & Doris Hauman

Welcome Book - First book sent to ALL registered children 

Australia “Where is the Green Sheep?” - 10/14/15
Canada - "The Little Engine That Could" Written by Watty Piper & Illustrated by George & Doris Hauman - 9/28/15
United Kingdom - "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter - 1/10/15
USA - "The Little Engine That Could" Written by Watty Piper & Illustrated by George & Doris Hauman - 10/1/15

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Group 1 - Registered Children Born in 2015

“My First Songs” Written & Illustrated by Tomie dePaola

Group 1 - Registered Children Born in 2015
Australia - “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle - 10/14/15
Canada - “My First Songs” by Tomie dePaola - 9/28/15
United Kingdom - “Baby Touch Star” - 1/10/15
USA - “My First Songs” by Tomie dePaola - 10/14/15

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Group 2 - Registered Children Born in 2014

“Little Poems for Tiny Ears” Poems by Lin Oliver, Illustrated by Tomie dePaola

Group 2 - Registered Children Born in 2014
Australia - “Dear Zoo” by Ron Campbell - 10/14/15
Canada - “Little Poems for Tiny Ears” Poems by Lin Oliver, Illustrated by Tomie dePaola - 9/28/15
United Kingdom - “Whose…Stripes?” -1/10/15
USA -“Little Poems for Tiny Ears” Poems by Lin Oliver, Illustrated by Tomie dePaola - 10/13/15

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Group 3 - Registered Children Born in 2013

“Maple” by Lori Nichols

Group 3 - Registered Children Born in 2013
Australia - “123 to the Zoo” by Eric Carle - 10/14/15
Canada - “Maple” by Lori Nichols - 9/28/15
United Kingdom - “Peppa Pig Goes to the Library” -1/10/15
USA - “Maple” by Lori Nichols - 10/9/15

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Group 4 - Registered Children Born in 2012

“Llama Llama & The Bully Goat” by Anna Dewdney

Group 4 - Registered Children Born in 2012
Australia - “Hunwick’s Egg” by Mem Fox and Pamela Loftf - 10/14/15
Canada - “Llama Llama & The Bully Goat” by Anna Dewdney - 9/28/15
United Kingdom - “Yo Ho Ho! A-Pirating We'll Go” Written by Kaye Umansky & Illustrated by Nick Sharratt -1/10/15
USA - “Llama Llama & The Bully Goat” by Anna Dewdney - 10/6/15 

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Group 5 - Registered Children Born in 2011

“Runaway Tomato” Written by Kim Cooley Reeder & Illustrated by Lincoln Agnew

Group 5 - Registered Children Born in 2011
Australia - “Sunday Chutney” by Aaron Blabey - 10/14/15
Canada - “Runaway Tomato” Written by Kim Cooley Reeder & Illustrated by Lincoln Agnew - 9/28/15
United Kingdom - "Stuck in the Mud" by Jane Clarke and Garry Parsons -1/10/15
USA - “Runaway Tomato” Written by Kim Cooley Reeder & Illustrated by Lincoln Agnew - 10/5/15

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Group 6 - Registered Children Born in 2010

“At This Very Moment” by Jim Arnosky

Group 6 - Registered Children Born in 2010
Australia - “John Brown Rose and the Midnight Cat” by Jenny Wagner - 10/14/15
Canada - “Wanted: The Perfect Pet” by Fiona Roberton -or- “At This Very Moment” by Jim Arnosky - 9/28/15
United Kingdom - “The Dudgeon is Coming” by Lynley Dodd -1/10/15
USA - “At This Very Moment” by Jim Arnosky - 10/2/15

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Graduation Book - Last book children receive when they graduate from the program

“Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!” by Nancy Carlson

Graduation Book - Last book children receive when they graduate from the program
Australia - “Are We There Yet?” - 10/14/15
Canada - “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!” by Nancy Carlson - 9/28/15
United Kingdom - "How You Got So Smart" - 9/9/2015
USA - “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!” by Nancy Carlson - 10/2/15 — at Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

"Maple" Author, Lori Nichols - Guest Blogger

Maple - Author & Illustrator Lori Nichols

Guest Blogger: Lori Nichols

I grew up in Pennsylvania and found myself happiest when I was outside. Maple and other stories have all sprouted from my Pennsylvania roots as well as my own relationship with my sister.

So, when my daughters were little (they are teenagers now), my husband and I wanted to find ways to connect them to nature and each other. We planted trees for each girl and camping became our favorite family activity. We found camping brought us closer to each other and to nature.

Photo courtesy of Lori Nichols

We bought an old Airstream when the girls were just starting grade school and made it into a “hard shiny tent with a toilet.” Never underestimate the power of a toilet when camping with three girls.

Photo courtesy of Lori Nichols

Our first trip in the camper was, cough, clear throat, “special” since we were still trying to figure it all out: plumbing, diapers in the woods, flashlights, camp fires, kids, all of it.  It demanded flexibility. After about three trips we became pros and are still camping each year with the girls.

Photo courtesy of Lori Nichols

It’s not hard to connect to nature when you’re so close to the ground. Our daughters each had their own connection to that low-level world. We saw, collected and photographed seeds of ideas in the mountains of North Carolina, beaches of South Carolina and woods of West Virginia. 

Our first North Carolina trip the girls collected pockets full of glittery mica rocks…which then found their way into our washing machine. For weeks we all sparkled. Tadpoles one year at the lake we love to swim, salamanders in the creek behind our camp site, grasshoppers near the 150 year-old gravesite we visit each year, frogs, bears, grasshoppers, deer, all became part of the blueprint of our family and in turn became the blueprint for the Maple and Willow stories.

Photo courtesy of Lori Nichols

Through it all, I’m nearby with a camera or my sketchbook looking for the next story to present itself.

I’m so honored that Maple was chosen as one of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library books. I hope her readers find as much joy in reading the book as I did in writing it. 

Publisher Credit:

“Maple” is published by Penguin Random House

Used with Permission

Copyright Notice:

Copyright © 2014 by Lori Nichols. All rights reserved. 

Verizon Helps Fund Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library With $40k Donation

Verizon presents Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation with a $40,000 check to help bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to foster care children in Tennessee.

During the University of Tennessee game against the University of Georgia, the Pride of the Southland Marching Band paid tribute to Dolly Parton with a full halftime show dedicated to her. As if that wasn’t amazing enough, Verizon presented a $40,000 check to help further fund her Imagination Library in Tennessee. This incredible gift will help provide free, age-appropriate books to children living in foster care.

The Governor's Books from Birth Foundation (GBBF) has been a longtime partner of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. In 2004, GBBF and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library partnered to launch a statewide campaign to make free books available to all children throughout the state from the time they are born until they turn five years old. Today, along with Verizon's continued support, that same partnership will provide Tennessee's foster care children, under age five, with free, age-appropriate books.  

When asked about Verizon's continued support, president of GBBF, Theresa Carl said,

“Verizon believes in our mission and has worked closely with us to ensure that all age-eligible children entering foster care in Tennessee receive books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.”

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library being statewide in Tennessee thanks to partnerships like that of GBBF and our amazing program affiliates throughout the state. Together, we've mailed more than 24 million books to Tennessee children!

To date, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has mailed more than 72 million free books to children across the US, UK, CA and AU.

Anna Dewdney Talks Llama Llama

Anna Dewdney shares her creative inspiration behind Llama Llama

Guest blogger: Anna Dewdney

Author, Anna Dewdney shares the creative inspiration behind her Llama Llama books

All of the Llama Llama books begin with a feeling: frustration, impatience curiosity, anxiety, etc. These emotions are feelings that most children have had at some point in their lives (if not daily!), and I hope that children can recognize themselves in the Llama Llama books. It is also my hope that in addition to being fun to read, the Llama Llama books can inspire conversations about behavior and feelings between adults and children.

When Llama Llama is having a temper tantrum in the grocery store, or when he is anxious that his mama is not giving him the attention he wants, or when he is having trouble sharing with one of his friends, I hope that parents and children can discuss these behaviors and situations while reading the book. These can be teachable moments that occur while reading together as a kind of practice for when these situations happen in real life.

"Llama Llama and the Bully Goat" by Anna Dewdney

Reading books together creates a common bond between adults and children --- that bond is a shared emotional experience. Talking about the emotions presented in the story, and about the emotions that the readers feel while reading the story, nurtures a sense of safety, trust, understanding, and confidence between the child and the adult reading the story with that child. Reading is not just about entertainment, or even just about building literacy skills – reading, especially when done together, is also about building relationships and expanding our understanding of the world that children share with adults.

I created Llama Llama to reflect the experiences I had with my own children and that I knew other parents were having with their children. For me, Llama Llama’s relationship with Mama Llama is a way to express the emotional experiences I share with my kids. I hope Llama Llama can continue to serve as means to bring children and adults together through reading.

Anna Dewdney, author of Llama Llama children's books, meets fans of all ages during recent book signing.