Free books. It really is that simple. 

Sign up children aged 0-5 for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, and get a free book mailed to you every month. United Way of Yellowstone County is thrilled to be the local partner for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, helping get families signed up and ensuring that the program is accessible to everyone. 

So far, we've signed up more than 1,000 new children, for a total of more than 4,300. We're on pace to help distribute 50,000 books over the next year!

Sign up a child

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library gives out 3 million books every month in the U.S.! In 1995, the program launched, serving one county in Tennessee. 30 years later, the Imagination Library has given out almost 300 million books across five countries.

In Dolly's words:

“Before he passed away, my Daddy told me the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing I had ever done. I can’t tell you how much that meant to me because I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my Daddy. He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams. 

“Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission. In the beginning, my hope was simply to inspire the children in my home county but here we are today with a worldwide program that gives a book a month to well over 3 million children."

Visit the global Dolly Parton's Imagination Library website by clicking here. 

Why Dolly Parton's Imagination Library matters

Research shows that programs like the Imagination Library that encourage reading for our youngest children help them develop lifelong reading skills. 

• Participating family members were overwhelmingly positive about the program and its impact on their children when asked in questionnaires, interviews and focus groups. Local libraries and schools also had positive views of the program and its impact on book ownership and literacy practices in homes.
• The positive views of the program and its impacts were present regardless of the demographic characteristics of the community or its participants, and longer program participation often resulted in more positive outcomes.
• Parents read aloud more to their children and were more comfortable reading as a result of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. 
• Some studies found Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library had promise with respect to developing children’s early literacy skills, as participants had more advanced skills than their classmates who did not participate in the program.