What Dolly Parton Knew About Reading
She wanted to be remembered, most of all, as the “book lady.”
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a program that provides free books to children from birth to age five, has distributed over 300 million books in five countries. The program was founded by Parton, who grew up in poverty in East Tennessee, and was inspired by her illiterate father. Parton has been generous in various ways, including funding a COVID-19 vaccine and opening a sanctuary for bald eagles.
Her legacy has inspired a trend of people posting photos of babies and kids reading books they received from the Imagination Library on social media. Reading to children offers benefits beyond literacy, such as helping them understand the world and guiding their emotional development.
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