Hardin CECC

04/03/2026

April 2 is International Children’s Book Day, a worldwide celebration of the stories that help children imagine, learn, and grow.

Through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, children across Kentucky receive a carefully selected collection of high-quality books from birth to age five. These stories build vocabulary, spark curiosity, and help prepare young learners for school.

Check out the 2026 Imagination Library Book List! This is just a glimpse of the joyful books arriving in mailboxes each month.

Know a child under five who is not yet enrolled? Start their reading journey.

📚 Enroll today: https://imaginationlibrary.com/kentucky/

03/16/2026

March 20 is World Storytelling Day, a reminder that stories have connected people for generations.

Storytelling does not have to come from a book. Make up a bedtime tale. Share a favorite memory from your childhood. Let your child invent a character and build the adventure together.

When children tell stories, they strengthen language skills, creativity, and confidence.

What kind of story does your family love most?

01/20/2026

READ 📕📗📘📙

The Team recently filled the Little Free Libraries (located at elementary schools on HCS grounds) with a new selection of children’s books for your child to read! Winter brewk might be over but READING never ends!📮📚 Stop by and take a book. 📖 Return it when you finish! 👫🏾 In the photo above, Jill Monday added new books to the Vine Grove Elementary little library! 📖 READ, READ, READ!!! 💙💚

01/20/2026

Happy 80th Birthday to Dolly!!🎉 How are you celebrating Dolly's big day?

Snowflakes. Red coats. Big footprints in fresh snow. ❄️

Ezra Jack Keats’ The Snowy Day is a timeless winter favorite and a beloved title in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.

Books like this help children explore the world around them, imagine new adventures, and fall in love with reading.

What’s your family’s favorite Imagination Library book so far?

Know a child under five who isn’t enrolled yet? Help us reach even more families across the Commonwealth.
📚 Sign up today: https://imaginationlibrary.com/kentucky

10/27/2025

Dressing up isn’t just for trick-or-treating. Costumes bring stories to life! This Halloween, let your child dress up as their favorite book character and act out the story during reading. It’s a fun way to encourage creativity and make reading even more magical.

Need ideas? Try pairing these Imagination Library favorites with simple costume pieces:

Never Show a T. Rex a Book! – Dinosaur tail or green hoodie

Good Night, Gorilla – Pajamas and a stuffed animal “zoo”

The King of Kindergarten – Crown and backpack

Pinkalicious – Pink dress or tutu
📸 Share your bookish costume and tag us! We’d love to feature your little reader.

10/13/2025

This week, invite your child to FALL into a story. One you create together!

Pick three fall-themed words (like apple, leaf, and witch) and help your child turn them into a silly, sweet, or spooky tale. Start with:

“Once upon a time in the fall…” and let their imagination lead the way.🍂🍁

We’ve created a printable prompt sheet to help get you started!

Creative storytelling builds vocabulary, sequencing, and confidence, and it’s a great way to enjoy autumn together.

09/23/2025

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to children from birth to age five, no matter their family’s income.📗

After launching in 1995, the program grew quickly. First books were only distributed to children living in Sevier County, Tennessee where Dolly grew up. It became such a success that in 2000 a national replication effort was underway. By 2003, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library had mailed one million books. It would prove to be the first of many millions of books sent to children around the world.💙

As part of The Gratitude Project, Kentucky is collecting your thoughts about the Imagination Library if you already receive books. Please complete the 4 question survey below! ⬇️

https://us17.list-manage.com/survey?u=583bd13030e6ba7d3237ed3de&id=3473890696&attribution=false

If you do not receive books yet and have a child who is Birth to 5-years-old, sign up here to get your FREE books mailed to your home.
https://imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability/

Check availability of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in your area and register your child online or by mail.

09/22/2025

September is all about celebrating the power of reading, and few books spark more giggles and cuddles than Llama Llama Red Pajama by Anna Dewdney. 🦙

This Imagination Library favorite captures the ups and downs of bedtime routines, with playful rhymes and big feelings little readers can relate to.📕

Books like this aren’t just fun to read. They can help build emotional awareness, vocabulary, and a love of language.📖

If this one’s on repeat in your home, you’re not alone.

09/02/2025

Build a Story Station

Make reading feel extra special this school year with your own Story Station!
All you need is:
~A basket of favorite books
~A cozy chair, blanket, or reading buddy
~Soft lighting (a lamp or flashlight works!)

📸 Share your family’s reading nook or Story Station and tag Dolly Parton's Imagination Library and Kentucky Governor's Office of Early Childhood. We’d love to feature your setup! 😊

07/07/2025

Summer fun doesn’t have to mean summer learning loss! Let's COMBAT summer learning loss!🥰

Reading just 15 minutes a day helps children grasp what they’ve learned and keeps their brains growing strong all summer.

From story time snuggles to car ride reads, fitting in a few pages daily makes a big difference. Let’s beat the summer slide—one story at a time! 📚

07/07/2025

The Commonwealth of Kentucky strives to be the employer of choice within the state and to recruit and retain a thriving workforce dedicated to serving the citizens of Kentucky. Access to quality childcare is often a concern of current employees and applicants. That is why the Personnel Cabinet is seeking to contract with a provider for a convenient, high-quality, affordable, all-day option for early childcare for Commonwealth of Kentucky employees. Interested providers can learn more about the Request for Proposal (“RFP” 790 2500000344) on Kentucky Vendor Self-Service (https://vss.ky.gov/vssprod-ext/Advantage4).