Oklahoma families are now eligible for Dolly Parton’s famous Imagination Libraries.
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Oklahoman families can now sign up their children—as long as the kiddies are five years old or younger—to receive a free book via the mail each month at no cost to them as part of Parton’s program.
Oklahoma’s State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister made the news known on Tuesday (May 10).
Parton developed the Imagination Library program after seeing that studies have shown that children with access to books in their homes develop literacy skills earlier than those who don’t, which then helps get them ahead once they begin formal education in school.
The Oklahoma State Department of Education will use about $2.5 million of its federal emergency relief funding to match donations in support of the program, which in turn ensures up to 2.3 million books will be distributed to children in the state by the end of 2024.
Families interested can enroll their children in the program by clicking HERE.
“We grew up in a very rural area, poor people, mountain people,” Parton said. “And my dad didn’t get a chance to go to school. Daddy couldn’t read and write but he was such a smart man…but this is to honor him.”
In addition, last month, Parton visited Delaware and Arkansas to celebrate the states joining her program.
According to Parton’s Imagination Library, the artist has helped donate millions and millions of books to children over the years. The foundation took to social media on Thursday (December 30) to report the good news, writing on Twitter, “As of December, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has gifted over 172 million books since inception! #DollysLibraryhttps://bit.ly/3FpBKQx“
Click on the library’s website and you’ll find more information.
The site reads, “In December, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library gifted over 1,927,849 books. The total number of free books gifted as of December 2021, is 172,752,307!”
Books that the foundation is getting to children include I Love You, Spot, The Little Engine that Could, Llama Llama Gram and Grandpa, and Parton’s own title, Coat of Many Colors.
