More Than Free Storybooks: International Impact of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library on Early Development

• In Event: Exploring Parent, Child, and Youth Outcomes From Home-School Engagement

Abstract

Research demonstrates that storybook reading significantly influences young children's bonding with caregivers, early literacy development, and school readiness. Early book sharing and subsequent literacy growth, along with increased personal book ownership, profoundly affect children's overall literacy and community literacy. This paper examines two studies—one regional in the U.S. and one national in the U.K.—on Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, an international book-giving program that gifts over one million books each month to children worldwide. These studies highlight the program's impact on children's school entry literacy skills, caregiver bonding, community and family engagement in literacy, and other measurable outcomes.

Authors

• Chad H. Waldron, Central Michigan University

• Caroline Zwierzchowska-Dod, Swansea Metropolitan University