Dolly Parton's impact in everything she did is almost indescribable. Singer, songwriter, actress, author, entrepreneur, philanthropist, humanitarian, role model, icon—she was everything, to so many of us. To us at NPL, however, Dolly Parton is beloved as a fierce advocate for literacy, books, children, and libraries.
Inspired by her father— for whom literacy was a lifelong struggle—Dolly started Imagination Library, dedicated to inspiring young children to love reading. Over the past 30 years, Imagination Library has mailed over 300 million books to young children around the world.
Right here in Nashville, the Dollywood Foundation's 2024 gift of 4.5 million dollars is making our Begin Bright initiative a reality. Because of Dolly, child care centers in Davidson County will have Little Libraries full of Imagination Library books, along with materials to support their use in the classroom. We are honored (and a bit daunted) to play a small part in furthering the early literacy work begun by Dolly.
If you have a young child at home under the age of 5, be sure to sign them up for Imagination Library. Dolly gave us an amazing gift, and we should take advantage of it. And if you're wondering, we of course have Imagination Library books in our collection! Check out the catalog widget below for over 80 Imagination Library books in our collection, including titles from the Imagination Library Bilingual Program, now available in all 50 states.
But not only did Dolly write hundreds of songs and send millions of books to children, she also wrote her own picture books! Her first picture book was Coat of Many Colors, based on one of her most famous songs. More recently she published the adorable Billy the Kid series, inspired by her French Bulldog "god dog."
For more Dolly books, music, and movies, be sure to explore our catalog. Find how you can honor Dolly's legacy: be kind, love those who are different, or create art. As for us here at NPL, we're going to read more books, get more books in the hands of children (no matter how old they are), and welcome everybody in—just like Dolly did.
