CHICAGO—Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is now available for all children in Illinois. The book gifting program mails free age-appropriate books to children from birth to age five. 

“I am so excited to announce that Illinois is officially expanding my Imagination Library statewide, said Parton in a Facebook video released Tuesday morning. “I want to thank all the local program partners across Illinois who have worked so hard to make this dream come true.”

The program launched in 1995 and was inspired by Dolly’s father’s inability to read. It has gifted more than 220 million free books to children in the U.S., Canada, Australia and Ireland.

Gov. JB Pritzker’s FY24 budget allocated $1.6 million for the program to support early childhood learning. 

“Research shows that early literacy makes a big difference for our youngest learners when it comes to developing language and social skills,” said Pritzker during a Tuesday press conference. 

In states that have already launched the program, Pritzker said studies have shown benefits of increased kindergarten readiness and gains in reading and math scores through third grade.

The program is currently active in forty counties across Illinois, serving more than 30,000 children. The state is now working to find partners in counties across the entire state.

"Every child should have access to books at home," said Dr. Tony Sanders, Illinois State Superintendent of Education in a statement. "The Dolly Parton Imagination Library and State of Illinois are removing barriers to early literacy by providing free books to our youngest readers." 

To check to see if a program is available in your area, visit the ‘find my program’ page on www.imaginationlibrary.com. You can enroll your child or sign up to be notified when a program comes to your community as it expands across the state.