How Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library helped thousands of Irish children

The legendary singer was passionate about helping children to learn how to read after growing up with a father who couldn’t read or write.

The singer established the Imagination Library, which helped donate over 300 million books to children worldwide.

The global initiative sees a free book sent to children once a month from when they’re born until they’re five years old.

The program went international in 2006, and Ireland joined the scheme in 2019. The first Irish scheme was established in Dublin 24, alongside the Childhood Development Initiative in Tallaght, with support from the Dublin Rotary Club, An Post and Shamrock Rovers.

As a result of the program coming to Ireland, over 200,000 books were delivered to Ireland’s pre-school children. The children are registered to get age-appropriate books every month from when they’re born until they turn five. The final book that Irish children currently receive is Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant.

The program distributed its 100 millionth book in 2018, and currently donates around 3 million books per month to children. The Imagination Library was also a beneficiary of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s $26 million charity wedding donations, receiving $2 million.

Parton’s admiration for her father, Robert Lee Parton Sr., and her upbringing in poverty in rural Tennessee inspired the project.

"Daddy never had a chance to go to school, so he could never read or write," Parton told Oprah Winfrey in 2020.

"Daddy was a very smart man…but he was ashamed that he couldn’t read or write. That bothered him. He felt like he couldn’t learn after he was grown. I remember thinking, ‘I need to do something."

Robert lived long enough to see his daughter’s legacy of literacy across the world before his death at the age of 79 in 2000.

"My dad got to live long enough to see the Imagination Library doing well and the little kids calling me ‘The Book Lady.’ He got such a kick out of that," she continued.

Dolly Parton.

Dolly’s nephew, Bryan Seaver, confirmed that she passed away in a statement shared online, saying: "My name is Bryan Seaver, son of Cassie Parton, and I’m representing the Parton and Owens family today, announcing the passing of my aunt, Dolly Rebecca Parton Dean, Sister, Sis and Granny to one generation and Gigi to the next.

"This video announcement is something Dolly asked of me years ago, before I fully absorbed it as a future reality. As her head of security for more than two decades, a role my father Larry held before me, I have imagined the heaviness of this moment but I haven’t truly felt it until now."

Dolly was set to appear at her theme park, Dollywood, just earlier this month, but had to cancel her appearance due to illness.

Dolly Parton.

In a video that she shared ahead of her latest rollercoaster’s launch, she explained that she was still in Nashville due to illness.

"Now I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I have had a few little health issues and sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated," Dolly said in the video.

She added that her doctor had "clipped my wings" and forbidden her to travel to the theme park.

Dolly is predeceased by her husband, Carl Dean, who died in March 2025. The couple had been together for more than 60 years.

* This article was originally published on Extra.ie.