'Hello There, Illinois': Parton's Imagination Library Arrives

ILLINOIS — Children across Illinois will soon have access to free books that will be sent to their homes thanks to a partnership with country music legend Dolly Parton and her Imagination Library initiative.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker and officials from the Dollywood Foundation announced the expansion of the Imagination Library program into Illinois this week. The program will begin shipping books to families with children ages 0-5 at no cost regardless of the family’s income. Pritzker’s fiscal year 2024 budget allocates $1.6 million to the program to support early education initiatives and to spark a lifelong love of reading, the governor’s office said.

"I couldn't be prouder to announce that Illinois is beginning its journey to provide every child under the age of five an opportunity to sign up and have a free book delivered to their house every month,” Pritzker said. "Research shows that early literacy makes a big difference for our youngest learners when it comes to developing language and social skills.”

Pritzker and Parton announced the expansion of the program this week with an exchange on X (formerly Twitter) in which the governor wrote “Even if you’re busy working 9-to-5, (the Imagination Library) will be there to be there to help your child discover a love for reading.”

In a video message on the platform, Parton says, “Well, hello there, Illinois, it’s Dolly”, adding that her Dollywood Foundation is already hard at work partnering with state officials to ensure that every young person in Illinois is eligible to receive the gift of the Imagination Library.

‘Now we have a lot of work ahead of us to expand programs across the state” Parton says, encouraging residents to see if the program is taking place in their community. “So Happy Reading, Illinois, and remember that I will always love you.”

The Imagination Library Program is supported by The Dollywood Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded by Parton in 1988. Since launching in 1995, the Imagination Library has become a preeminent early childhood book-gifting program in the world, with the mission of inspiring a love of reading in children from birth to age five, according to a news release.

Inspired by Parton’s father's inability to read, the Imagination Library Program was launched in her home county of Sevier County, Tenn. The program's significant impact led to its international expansion and has gifted over 220 million free books in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and The Republic of Ireland. Every month, the Imagination Library mails over 2.8 million books.

The program is now active in areas across 40 counties in Illinois with more than 30,000 children currently receiving books. With this expansion, is expected to fully cover the entire state, the release said. To ensure that all children can participate, new local program partners are needed, and existing Imagination Library programs are encouraged to grow the capacity to register additional children.

"Every child should have access to books at home," Illinois State Superintendent of Education said in the release. "The Dolly Parton Imagination Library and the State of Illinois are removing barriers to early literacy by providing free books to our youngest readers."