Manley Works to Help Support Young Readers, Highlights Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – As part of her efforts to ensure that students across Illinois have access to educational materials, state Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, is encouraging residents to take advantage of the new partnership between Illinois and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which mails books to children ages 5 and under for free.

“Ensuring that all families, regardless of their financial background or ability to get free books at places like libraries or schools, have access to reading materials is crucial for setting all of our children up for success,” said Manley. “Thanks to Illinois’ new partnership with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, children across the state will have access to high-quality, age-appropriate books that will help them develop as readers and set a strong foundation for future learning opportunities.”

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library was founded in 1995 and mails one free book per month to registered children under the age of 5. Since its inception, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library has gifted over 224 million free books to children across the world and mails over 2.8 million books per month. Over 30,000 children in Illinois are already a part of the program, but with the new state budget including an expansion of funding to the program, the Imagination Library is expected to be available to children across the state. To check to see if a program is currently active in your region, please visit imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability/. If the program is not yet available, you will be able to sign up to be notified when availability opens up.

“As a grandmother, I know how important it is for children to read or be read to early and often,” said Manley. “Not only is reading with a child important for their education, it is also a great way to bond with children and begin teaching them about various important topics that they encounter in everyday life. I would like to thank Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library for their work supporting the education of children across our state, and I look forward to the expansion of this program and ensuring that every child in Illinois can have great books to read.”