26/08/2026
Dolly Parton will be remembered as one of the greatest entertainers of all time. But millions of children will remember her for something else, arguably even more important.
She gave them their first books.
Dolly never forgot where she came from. Raised in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee as one of 12 children, she carried the people, values, and spirit of those mountains with her throughout her extraordinary life.
And when she had the opportunity to give something back, she chose education.
Inspired by her father, who never had the opportunity to learn to read and write, Dolly launched the Imagination Library in her home county of Sevier County, Tennessee, in 1995.
The idea was beautifully simple: every child enrolled would receive a free book in the mail every month from birth until age five.
What began as a small program for children in the community where Dolly grew up became a worldwide movement.
More than 300 million books have now been placed into the hands of children.
Think about that for a moment.
Hundreds of millions of bedtime stories. Hundreds of millions of opportunities for a parent and child to read together. Hundreds of millions of chances for a child to discover a love of reading that could stay with them for the rest of their life.
Dolly Parton gave the world unforgettable songs, but she also understood something every teacher knows:
Learning to read can change the course of a child's life.
Her music will continue to be played for generations.
But somewhere tonight, a child will open a book that arrived because Dolly Parton believed every child deserved the opportunity to read.
That may be one of the greatest legacies anyone could leave behind.
Rest in peace, Dolly. ❤️📚
The music will live on. And so will the millions of stories you helped children discover.