By Peeple CEO, Dr Sally Smith
Like so many people, I’ve been thinking about Dolly Parton and the extraordinary contribution she made through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. It’s a simple idea, but a powerful one – giving young children their own collection of quality books, regardless of family income or circumstance.
Through the Imagination Library, registered children receive a free, age-appropriate book in the post every month from birth until their fifth birthday. The books are addressed to the child, which makes the arrival feel personal and exciting, helping to build a sense that books are part of their everyday life. At Peeple, we know how much that matters.
How Imagination Libraries work in local areas
The Imagination Library is managed by Dolly’s charity, The Dollywood Foundation, which selects the books, and provides the systems needed to run the scheme. Local partners such as Peeple fund the books and postage in their own areas, and support families to register.
Peeple supports the Imagination Library in Littlemore, Rose Hill, the Leys and Berinsfield in Oxfordshire. It is free for families. For local partners it cost around £26 per child per year. This covers the books which are supplied (and heavily subsidised by Penguin Random House) and postage. Over five years, a child can build up a home library of up to 60 books before starting school. Families can also attend Peep Learning Together groups in these areas and access one-to-one support from Home-Start Oxford or the Berin Centre as part of the Growing Minds project.
Books are important long before children can read for themselves. Sharing stories supports language development, concentration and memory, and it builds the early literacy skills needed to become and independent reader. It also gives adults and children regular time together to share a book, cuddled up and relaxed – lowering stress in both!
These small routines add up. Children hear new words, practise listening, learn how stories work, and begin to understand that print carries meaning. Families do not need to do anything complicated; reading together, talking about the pictures, and following a child’s interest are enough.
One of the strengths of the Imagination Library is that it removes some of the barriers. The books arrive at home, without forms to renew, fines to worry about, or a trip that may not be easy to make. They become part of the household, ready to be read and re-read. In remembering Dolly, I’m also thinking about the everyday reading moments her work has made possible: a baby exploring a board book, a toddler choosing the same story again, an older sibling joining in, or a parent finding a short pause at the end of a long day.
At Peeple, we care deeply about the difference early relationships, play, talk and stories can make. The Imagination Library fits closely with that work. It starts from the belief that children’s early experiences matter, and that families should have access to the simple resources that help those experiences happen.
Dolly Parton leaves many wonderful legacies. The Imagination Library is one of the most tangible. Books arriving month after month, helping to build language, confidence, connection – and a lifetime relationship with reading. Thank you, Dolly!
If you’d like to help
Since launching the Peep Imagination Library in 2014, we have helped send around 95,000 books to children in our community. Today, 1,330 children receive a free book every month, creating opportunities for families to share stories, conversations and special moments together.
We really appreciate the supporters who have made this possible. If you would like to help more children build a lifelong relationship with books and reading, we’d be so grateful for your support.
- You can donate here
- If you live in an area where there isn’t a local Imagination Library – find out about setting one up
