The Imagination Library

While reading an article online, I discovered a wonderful program that was created by Dolly Parton to promote literacy in young children. She calls it the "Imagination Library."

Taken from the website (http://www.dollysimaginationlibrary.com/), here is a little background on the program:

In 1996, Dolly Parton launched an exciting new effort to benefit the children
of her home county in east Tennessee. Dolly wanted to foster a love of
reading among her county’s preschool children and their families. She wanted
children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can
create. Moreover, she could insure that every child would have books,
regardless of their family’s income.

So she decided to mail a brand new, age appropriate book each month to every child under 5 in Sevier County. With the arrival of every child’s first book, the classic The Little Engine That Could ™, every child could now experience the joy of finding their very own book in their mail box. These moments continue each month until the child turns 5—and in their very last month in the program they receive Look Out Kindergarten Here I Come.

I think that is such a cool idea! Any community can adopt this program now. (On the website you can see if your area participates). The community raises the money to pay for the books through donations, and they are sent to all the children in the area under the age of 5. It costs about $28/child/year to cover the books and the postage. What a great way to promote reading and a love of books from a young age!

In my class, there are lots of children that don't have any books at home. Head Start sends home a bundle of books to any child whose parent actually admits to this (it's a question on our first home visit interview), but they are old, second-hand books....usually not the greatest. With this program, the kids get beautiful, brand-new books that are chosen by a board of early childhood experts to help build a solid foundation for the children and prepare them for school.

I think it's a fabulous idea! Kudos to you, Dolly!