I first heard about Dolly Parton's Imagination Library about 2 weeks after Lil Dude was born. I was sifting through a file folder of information that the hospital had given us when we were discharged. It included a sign-up form for the Imagination Library. This was a special offer to babies born at our hospital between August 2010 and August 2011. Every child that signed up would receive 1 book a month, until they were five years old and starting kindergarten. FOR FREE. Free books for Lil Dude til he's five? YES PLEASE! I signed him up immediately.
Since then, my son has received a new book in the mail every month. It's a great mix of classics (The Little Engine That Could) and newer books (like the recently-received Red Wagon...adorable).
Admittedly, we are probably not the primary audience for this program--Lil Dude already had boatloads of books in his collection even before birth, though of course we are always thankful for more. But the hospital where he was born is in an urban area where many kids probably don't have piles of books thrown at them when they're born. I hope the Imagination Library is helping to spread literacy and a love of books to those kids the most!
The Imagination Library is not available to all kids right now. It has to be hosted by a community group in your area in order to be properly funded. However, you can find out at the Imagination Library website (here) if it's available for your kiddos. And if it's not? Look into how you can help bring it to your area!
Do you know of any other charities or community groups working to promote childhood literacy? Promote them in the comments section!
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