Dolly Parton brings 25,000 books of reading joy to children (By Amy, 13)

By Amy, 13, Jill Dando News, at Priory Community School Academy

Children across Scotland received over 25,000 free books which were gifted to them by music star Dolly Parton and the Wheatley Foundation.

Part of the Wheatley Group, the Wheatley Foundation – has partnered with Parton’s Imagination Library to help children develop their reading ability and nurture a love of reading.  

The famous ‘Working 9 to 5’ singer established Parton’s Imagination Library in 1995. 
Providing children under the age of five with a specially chosen book free of charge every month until their fifth birthday, the charity has gone from strength to strength. 

When the programme was initially launched in the United Kingdom, a group of school children gathered on the steps of the Savoy Hotel to sing Dolly’s song ‘I Believe in You’.   

Year on Year, the Imagination Library has grown, and they now work with over 200 affiliate partners, delivering more than 40,000 books every month to children living in UK communities.  

Even more impressive – The Dollywood Foundation has distributed over 200 million books across the US, Canada, Australia, Ireland and the UK collectively!
Parton once released a Christmas song called ‘The Greatest Gift of All’: perhaps these books are what it was all about!