Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library leaves lasting legacy of books for children

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library grew from local project into global programme giving free books to children

Dolly Parton’s legacy extends beyond her music and entertainment career through the Imagination Library, the children’s literacy programme she founded in 1995. The initiative has distributed more than 332 million books to children around the world.

Parton, who died on August 25 at 80 after a battle with cancer, previously said she would rather be remembered as a “book lady” than the “Queen of Country Music”.

In 2025, she explained her connection to the programme and her belief in giving children opportunities during their early years.

“That’s a very warm, loving, emotional thing for me to think that I’m the book lady and that I’ve done something for the little kids because, being from a big family, I have a special love for children,” Parton told USA TODAY.

“They’re the future. They're the ones that's going to be going on after us, and so I think if you can give them a head start, a little chance of any kind in their early years and their most impressionable years, that's a good thing.”

The Imagination Library began as a project serving children in Sevier County, Tennessee, where Parton grew up.

Families participating in the programme receive one free book each month for every registered child from birth to age five.

My 7-year-old daughter heard me say that Dolly Parton died, and got visibly very sad. I was surprised she even knew that name.

“You know Dolly Parton?”

In the sweetest timid voice, she replied:

“Well, I don’t _know_ know her. But she sent me books.”

🥹😢😭

— Matt Macauley (@VisualAlgebra) August 25, 2026

Parton created the initiative in honour of her father, who was unable to read. She wrote that his inability to read may have prevented him from fulfilling some of his dreams, inspiring her mission to encourage children to love books.

“The Little Engine That Could” was the first book distributed through the programme and was one of Parton’s childhood favourites.

Parton was also an author herself, writing children’s books, memoirs and other works. In 2022, she co-wrote the novel “Run, Rose, Run” with James Patterson and released an accompanying album.

Through the Imagination Library, Parton’s interest in reading became a long-running literacy initiative that connected millions of children with books.