CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Reading books to a child is critical to early childhood literacy. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library and the Imagination Library of Montgomery County work to make sure every child has the books to get started.
Imagination Library is a book gifting program founded by Parton in 1995 and has spread from Tennessee across America and to other countries around the world. It hopes to inspire a love of reading and learning from a young age by mailing free high-quality books to children each month from birth to age 5.
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Erin Yow is a board member and fundraising chairperson for the Montgomery County Imagination Library chapter and says they are responsible for providing free books to over 9,000 local children enrolled in the program. with close to 300,000 youngsters in all 95 Tennessee counties.
Yow said research shows that early literacy is important not just for children learning to read, but to science and math skills and all other areas of education as well.
“The Imagination Library has also actually done research which began in 2011, and they found that Imagination Library participants entered kindergarten with higher levels of academic preparedness in both reading and math,” Yow said.
Each book is picked out by members of the Dolly Parton Imaginary Library Foundation, who are experts in children’s literature, and the program comes with reading tips for parents and activities for the youngsters after the book has been read.
Children always receive The Little Engine That Could as their first book, and Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come as their graduation book at age 5.
Yow said each book costs the program about $1.15 to send, with Imagination Library of Montgomery County responsible for 50% of the cost with the other 50% coming from the Governors Early Literacy Foundation.
“If you do the math, about $125,000 is the cost to send all of the students in Montgomery County a book every single month for the full year,” Yow said.
The Imagination Library of Montgomery County also falls under the umbrella at the Friends of the Library organization, which supports the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library.
The Imagination Library meets on the second Tuesday of the month at the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library, and Yow invited anyone who is interested in becoming more involved to attend the meetings.
To learn more or to make a donation, visit mcgtn.org. You can also go to their Facebook and Instagram page or call the Clarksville-Montgomery County Public Library at 931-648-8826.
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