Did you know that Dolly Parton gives away free books for kids?
Reading is fundamental to brain growth in small children and getting books into their hands is very important. Country singer, Dolly Parton, believes in this concept so much that she has developed a program that sends children a book every month from birth to age 5.
Dolly Parton Books for Kids
The Imagination Library was inspired by Parton’s father.
Raised in a remote, rural community, her father had never learned to read and Parton knew that this missing element greatly affected his life.
“Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission,” she says.
The program was originally launched in 1995 and by 2003, Dolly Parton’s free book program had delivered over a million books for kids.
Dolly Parton Free Books for Kids
Each month, the Imagination Library mails high quality, age appropriate books to participating children, age birth through 5, at no cost to their families. Each month you child can have a new book which can help fuel their love of reading.
From picture books to books for a higher age group, they have a great list of recent books to add to your own library of books.
The goal? Making sure children have access to great books in their home.
From the Imagination Library website:
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth until they begin school, no matter their family’s income.
Free Books For Kids
Did you know this isn’t a new thing? They’ve hit milestones for 25 years reaching goal after goal to help send free books for kids.
Isn’t that amazing?
Just think the first book sent out was so long ago and Dolly Parton has worked hard to make sure kids have access to free childrens books.
Where is Dolly Parton Imagination Library available?
The Imagination Library began in Parton’s home state of Tennessee in 1995 and expanded across the United States in 2000.
More recently, the program has expanded to Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia, with Ireland joining in 2019.
Over 130 million books have found their way to eager new readers since the Imagination Library began.
Studies say that reading to your kids teaches them over a million words before kindergarten.
Just reading one picture book per day can add 78,000 words per year.
Reading with your kids 20 minutes a day builds vocabulary and pre-reading skills.
Keep Up With News From Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Want to know the latest and greatest details from Dolly Parton’s book club? It’s easy!
Dolly Parton’s book program actually has a news and resources tab so you can see all the wonderful changes coming up!
Dolly Parton Imagination Library Sign Up
With the Imagination Library, these kinds of free books are finding their way into homes and helping more children learn to love reading.
The Imagination Library is available in many communities across the country.
You can check to see if it’s available in your area here.
More Dolly Parton Books For Kids
Did you know Dolly Parton is also know as the Book Lady? You can learn about why she is called that and more about her life from these amazing Dolly Parton books for kids. This post contains affiliate links.
- My Little Golden Book About Dolly Parton
- Dolly Parton
- Coat Of Many Colors
- Who Is Dolly Parton?
- I Am Dolly Parton
Imagination Library FAQs
How much does Dolly Parton book club cost?
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is free to the participating children. The Imagination Library partners with Local Affiliate Partners like businesses, school districts, organizations and individuals who share the mission of getting books into the hands of all children.
How can I get free books from Dolly Parton?
- Check the availability of the Imagination Library in your area.
- Click on your country.
- Then add your zip code, state, city and county (or what is prompted for countries outside of the United States).
- If the program is available, you will be prompted to fill out more information. If the program is not available in your area, you can be put on a list to be notified when it becomes available.
How many books do you get with Dolly Parton book club?
“…Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library mails a high quality, age appropriate book to all registered children, addressed to them, at no cost to the child’s family.” – Imagination Library, United States
Who is eligible for Dolly Parton Imagination Library?
Every child under 5 (in participating countries/areas) can participate in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library no matter their family’s income. Currently 1 in 10 children under 5 in the United States receives Imagination Library books!
How much does Dolly Parton Imagination Library cost?
The Imagination Library is free to the children and their families.
More Library Fun from Kids Activities Blog
- Have you heard about the American Girl free online library?
- If you are local to Texas, check out the Lewisville library.
- What about a toy library…that sounds like great fun!
- We love the Scholastic watch and learn library!
- And don’t miss the Sesame Street library either…oh all the reading fun for kids!
Have you gotten books from the Dolly Parton Imagination Library? How did your child love their age-appropriate books? Let us know in the comments, we’d love to hear from you!
Thanks to yiu
Wish this was available in Massachusetts but its not. Its great idea my 3yr old loves book.
would love this for my grandbabies
Thank you for considering them for this program.
I would like to get these for my grand children. they are 4 – 6- 8. The older ones love to read and the youngest like for me to read to him.
I have referred so many of our friends who have littles, to get on board, with Dolly’s Imagination Library. We live in El Paso, Texas, and a teacher friend that was trying to sign up, told me that it’s not available in El Paso. I am shocked! Dolly, please expand your program to west Texas! It is so very important to so many of the low income families, as well, as all of the little minds that are anxious to read and learn.
Thank you so very much,
Jeffrey Vaughn
This is absolutely awesome, reading is very important! Thank You Dolly.
Reading books takes you on a journey
It’s fun to see my grandkids use their imagination while story book time
I’m very interested in getting books for my 2 grandkids. We love to read together