I have always liked Dolly Parton; she has a beautiful voice, she starred in my favorite movie ever, and she’s a real spunky lady. Plus, she’s obviously “partial to the sparkle,” which I love.
Something else she does is give books to kids, which is amazing. She has a program called Imagination Library. In communities where the leaders sign up for the program, kids under 5 can receive one free book per month until their 5th birthday! Mike heard about it at work a month or two ago, and we immediately signed up Jillian and Zack (sorry, Will, you’re too old!). Jilly will get a few more books until she turns five, but Zack will have an entire library full by the time he turns five! I think this program is just amazing. We would buy our kids books anyway, but this lets us give them really nice, high-quality books to add to their collections at no cost. It really helps the budget, and it’s fun for the kids to get mail just for them!
Here’s a photo of Jilly and Zack, showing off their first book (we got two copies, but just photographed one):
"The Little Engine That Could" is the first book every child receives.
Inside the book we found a note from Dolly with an inspirational poem, which was really neat. There are also tips on how to read with your kids, which is especially great for new parents. Overall, this is an amazing program! Check it out to see if your community participates, and sign up those kids!
Storied Yarns 