Meet Dolly Parton: Music Artist & Founder of the “Imagination Library” “A house without books is a room without windows.” This origin-unknown phrase serves as a clever and brief bromide designed to illustrate the importance of literacy. Fortunately for the future and conveniently for the present, individuals of “celebrity” status have also recognized the obvious. Dolly Parton, a country music artist, who has released 42 top-ten country albums and earned 25 number-one singles, is one such individual. Nominated for a Grammy award 42 time, she has also received 7 awards from theAcademy of Country Music and 10 Country Music Association (CMA) awards. She is also the proud recipient of CMA’s highest honor, “Entertainer of the Year.” Unknown to most, including this writer until recently when completing a review of her 9 to 5, The Musical at Forestburgh Playhouse, is her literacy program, the Dolly Parton “Imagination Library.” On August 20, The PBS NewsHour’s special correspondent for education, John Merrow, aired the story of the Imagination Library, its origin, phenomenal success, and the nickname children in several countries have bestowed Dolly Parton. She’s known as “The Book Lady.” The “Imagination Library” began quite modestly at the hospital in Sevier County, Tennessee. Sevier County is home for Dolly Parton and in the
beginning her mission was quite personal. It was a reflection on her early childhood home and the overwhelming admiration and respect she had for her father. There were no books in that house and her father could not read or write! Although she knew him to be a “brilliant man,” she believed him crippled by those conditions. Today, every child born in the Sevier County Hospital gets a free book. The gift-of-a-book pattern continues, with each child receiving a free book, once a month, twelve times a year up to a total of 60 books. That takes the child to his/her fifth birthday. Books are sent to the youngsters with their individual names on the package. The premise is that when little children receive books in the mail they tend to become curious and on the next level recognize the concept of ownership. Ownership operates as a motivating factor and children so motivated will get someone to read to them or get someone to teach them how to read. Although on the surface a gross oversimplification of motivational theory and practice, the bottom line is that it works! What began in 1996 has now spread to 1,400 communities throughout this country, Canada and
England. Each participating organization secures the cost of the books and mailing, an unbelievable total of $2 each. The remainder or difference is contributed by service organizations and additional interested parties. David Dotson, president of the Dollywood Foundation, recently stated that, “Oftentimes, the most powerful things are the most simple things.” The foundation is an international organization, with an annual budget in excess of 20 million dollars, and is responsible for the distribution of over 700,000 books a month. Well documented in the study of early childhood education is the fact that young children who are read to on a regular basis are “more likely to succeed in school.” Speak with any veteran elementary school teacher and the tale is always the same or similar, “We can definitely tell if a child’s been read to at home. Their vocabularies are so much larger.” As for Ms. Parton’s comments: “I think if you see that literacy is a big deal at their house, then they’re going to really...they just kind of embrace that more when they come to school. And they’re ready for it. 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 have done something good with my life and with my success.” “The woman is one of our national treasures, so let’s cherish her for as long as we’ve got her.” Jac Chebatoris, Newsweek 2008.
September 2013
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