This summer you can kickstart your baby and toddler’s reading with a brand new book each month! Dolly Parton, superstar songwriter, singer and actor, is also the founder of a nationwide virtual library: the Imagination Library. It’s a program she started to help kids love reading by sending a brand new, age appropriate book each month to every child under 5 years.

It all started in 1996 when Dolly decided that every child in her home county of east Tennessee would have access to books, regardless of their family’s income. That was a huge success and so other counties clamored to provide the Imagination Library to their children. So, Dolly created a foundation with a panel of experts to select just the right books and secured Penguin Group USA to be the exclusive publisher for the Imagination Library.

Here’s how it works:

In order to participate, your community must make the program accessible to all preschool children in their area. NYC is a registered community and so that means all the families of the 5 boroughs can get on the train! The community pays for the books and mailing, promotes the program, registers the children, and enters the information into the database.

Here’s how to enroll:

1. Go to www.imaginationlibrary.com

2. Choose your country and settings

3. Then choose “First Time Users”

4. Then choose ” I Want to enroll my child”

5. Below that, click the grey rock that says “GO”

6. Accept the terms and follow the steps provided on screen

What if you aren’t in NYC and want to see if your community is listed?



1. Go to www.imaginationlibrary.com

2. Choose your country

3. Then choose “First Time Visitors”

4. At the very top of the page you will then see a train cart button. Click “About Us”

5. On this next page you will see, near the middle of the page on the left, several buttons, one called “Affiliates”

6. Click “Affiliates” and you will then see a map of your country and a list of participating areas

We joined the club last year to test it out and have received some wonderful books- it’s a fabulous program!