Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library expands to young readers across Missouri

Jimmy Dolan’s 4½-year-old son only knows Dolly Parton as the lady who sends him a book in the mail every month.

“The other day, a Dolly Parton song came on, and he was like wait a minute, this is the lady who's been sending me these books,” Dolan recalled. “[She] also sings? She’s a musician too?”

The country music icon’s program, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, became available to all children under age 5 throughout Missouri this week. The goal is to nurture a love of reading by providing them with a free book each month until their fifth birthday.

“It’s definitely increased his love of reading,” Dolan said. “Getting a book in the mail feels special to him. We’re seeing that his teacher is saying, ‘oh, you know you’re heading into kindergarten next year. He might already be ready to start working on sight words or some like different spelling patterns.’”

Dolan enrolled his son in the program before the statewide expansion more than a year ago. The books are a hit at home. His son is always eager to check the mail for the next book.

“When he sees that he got a Dolly Parton book, he’s so pumped for it,” Dolan said.

In 2022, the Missouri legislature passed a bill that established the program statewide. The passage made Missouri the 14th state to launch a statewide Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

The following year, the legislature approved $11 million for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to fully fund the program for children to participate free of charge. So far, Missouri is the only state that’s done so.