The Imagination Library provides books for children. One per month from birth to the age of five years old. That’s the mission. The dream is to provide the service for every eligible child in Carter County and Elizabethton.
This week was National Imagination Library Week, and to celebrate the occasion, the Carter County Imagination Library hosted a parade — Book It to the Bridge — with the youngest students in the two local school systems marching down the sidewalks of Elk Avenue to the Covered Bridge Park to proclaim their love of reading and support of the Imagination Library Program. The children, in turn, were treated to stories read by high school students.
The program has been a huge success locally with 300,000 free books distributed in Carter County since it beginning in May 2005. A total of 5,681 children have been enrolled in the program, which mails a free book to each child every month, from birth to the age of five. They will receive 60 free books — a mini library — in that time.
Every child’s first book is “The Little Engine That Could,” which is donated by the Niswonger Foundation and given to most of the children while they are still in the hospital after being born.
This month, alone, 2,247 children in Carter County received the free book in their mailboxes. That represents 72.54 percent of all children in that age group in the county.
Anyone wondering why books are so important for children need look no further than the program’s concept: Books in a home help small children learn to read at an earlier age, better preparing them for the start of school.
The Carter County Imagination Library and its supporters have likely helped hundreds of young children get a head start on school.
Organizers said it takes only $25 to provide a child with a monthly book for a year; $125 will cover a monthly book from birth through the fifth birthday for a child.
According to the Imagination Library website, Dolly Parton, the country singer-songwriter known for such hits as “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You,” launched the program in 1995 to help her home county in east Tennessee. In the years since, it has become an international offering.
“Dolly’s vision was to foster a love of reading among her county’s preschool children and their families by providing them with the gift of a specially selected book each month. By mailing high quality, age-appropriate books directly to their homes, she wanted children to be excited about books and to feel the magic that books can create. Moreover, she could ensure that every child would have books, regardless of their family’s income,” the website states about the Imagination Library’s inception.
Imagination Library is one program that is incredibly easy to participate in. No one has to arrange transportation anywhere. Participants do not need regular Internet access. All that is required is a mailing address to which the books can be sent.
The Imagination Library is the surest way to invest in our future and gives young children a strong future built on a love of reading.