Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library behind children’s success stories

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Imagination Library has put millions of books in the hands of children under five for nearly 30 years.

The massive program that has inspired the love of reading in millions of kids around the world started in Sevier County with the man that Dolly Parton looks up to most.

“I created the Imagination Library as a tribute to my daddy,” Parton said. “He was the smartest man I’ve ever known, but in my heart, I knew his inability to read probably kept him from seeing all his dreams come true.”

Jenn Webb was one of the millions of children who received books from the Imagination Library program. She was two years old when the program started in Sevier County, making her one of the first kids to call Parton “The Book Lady.”

“We’re all aware of the icon that Dolly is, and growing up in East Tennessee, you’re even more aware of it, but when you’re a little kid, she’s just the book lady,” Webb said.

Now, Webb is a publicist for the Dollywood company. “It’s kind of like coming full circle,” she said.

“I credit a lot of that to the Imagination Library for instilling that in me, to be excited to get the books and to be excited to get to read,” Webb said.

Millions of kids have a similar success story because of the Imagination Library, the accomplishment Parton’s dad was the proudest of.

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