Remembering Dolly Parton, the World’s Beloved ‘Book Lady’

Imagine. Millions of children worldwide receiving brand new copies of books. Smiling, eyes sparkling, energetic voices. Imagine.

Hi, everyone.

I wanted to take a minute and post about Dolly. We not only lost a music icon, but also an amazing woman and figure who contributed so much to the literary world.

She was an avid reader who never took stories for granted. While her music may be the thing she is most remembered for, the reading community will forever remember her beloved Imagination Library which was founded in 1995. This program gifted books to children under the age of five. Through her foundation, Dolly Parton distributed millions of books all over the world to young children.

She always had a passion for children and she combined that with her love for reading to create this beautiful program.

It was inspired by her father’s inability to read and write. This hardship led to hundreds of millions of children being gifted opportunities to read. What an amazing mission!

“Everywhere I go, the kids call me ‘the book lady.’ The older I get, the more appreciative I seem to be of the ‘book lady’ title. It makes me feel more like a legitimate person, not just a singer or an entertainer. But it makes me feel like I’ve done something good with my life and with my success.” – Dolly Parton

She truly was ‘the book lady’.