Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
of Wapello County
United Way of Wapello County and the Ottumwa Public Library are proud to bring Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to local children ages birth to five.
Every month, registered children in Wapello County receive a brand-new, carefully selected, high-quality book in the mail— at no cost to the family— thanks to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
But we can’t do it without you. This powerful program depends on the generosity of local donors like you to keep books in the hands of our youngest readers.
Give the Gift of a free Book — Every Month.
What is the Imagination Library?
Monthly Books
One high-quality book mailed to your home every month.
Build a Home Library
Receive up to 60 books before your child enters kindergarten.
Boost Early Learning
Books support vocabulary, imagination, & school readiness.
Dolly Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 to give every child in her Tennessee hometown the chance to fall in love with reading. Her idea was simple: put high-quality, age-appropriate books into the hands of children—no matter their family’s income.
Today, the program sends a free book each month to children from birth to age five. Each title is selected by early childhood literacy experts to spark imagination, strengthen vocabulary, and help children enter kindergarten ready to learn.
Families pay nothing — every book is funded by generous local supporters through the Ottumwa Public Library and United Way of Wapello County.
how it works
Step 1 — Enroll Your Child
Sign up online in minutes.
2 - Books Are Delivered Monthly
Personalized with your child’s name.
3 - Read Together Often
Make reading part of your daily routine.
4 - Grow, Learn, + Thrive
Children enter school more prepared + confident.
Each month, a new, carefully selected book will be mailed in your child’s name directly to your home.
The first book is always the children’s classic The Little Engine That Could™.
Best of all, it is a FREE GIFT to your child through our partnership with local organizations!
There is no cost or obligation to you or your family.
Click here to sign up to get a FREE book every month from birth to age 5!
Eligibility + Enrollment
Who Can Enroll?
✔ All children from birth through age five
✔ Living in Wapello County
✔ No cost to families — ever
Enrollment is always open.
Books continue arriving until your child turns five or moves out of the service area.
Enroll today and start building your home library.
Parents + Caregivers
Setting Up Children for Future Success
As a parent or caregiver, reading with your child is one of the most important activities you can engage in to help set them up for success.
Dolly believes that if you can read, you can do anything, dream anything and be anything. Through her Imagination Library, Dolly wants to ensure every child can feel the magic that books create.
Register your child today and begin receiving one free, high-quality, age-appropriate book each month for your child, birth to age five. These books are personalized with your child’s name and mailed directly to your home to create a one-of-kind gifting experience.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library encourages good reading habits for parents, caregivers and their children.
When your child receives their Imagination Library books, we ask you to do the following:
Begin reading with your child immediately
Read to your child at least 5 days per week
Read books multiple times
about the books
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Imagination Library books are:
Selected by the Blue Ribbon Book Selection Committee
Personalized with the child’s name
Mailed directly to their home each month
Chosen to be developmentally appropriate, high-quality, and engaging
From the very first book (The Little Engine That Could) to the graduation book (Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!), each title is carefully selected with intention and purpose.
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A panel of early childhood literacy experts reviews hundreds of titles each year to choose the perfect books for children across the United States.
Their work ensures every book supports literacy growth and joyful reading experiences. -
Book Features & Formats
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library books may include:
Book-Specific Features
Reading tips for caregivers
High-quality illustrations
Age-appropriate themes and vocabulary
Various Formats
Board books
Flexibound
High-quality soft covers
Bilingual & Braille Options
Two bilingual English/Spanish books included per age group each year
100% bilingual enrollment options available in select U.S. states
Braille editions through The American Printing House for the Blind
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Core Themes
Inspiration & imagination
Love of reading and learning
Appreciation of art and aesthetics
Diversity of people, roles, culture, and environments
Building confidence and self-esteem
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Bright, bold, colorful
Rhyme and rhythm
Minimal text
Point-and-say engagement
Playful sound
Nurture, attachment, and lullaby themes
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Item descriptionBuilds on concepts from year one
Repetitive and predictable
Daily routines
Real photo illustrations
Body awareness
Nursery rhymes
Colors, letters, numbers
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Wordless books for storytelling
Values and character development
Themes of fear, conflict, love, and safety
Colors, letters, numbers
Nursery rhymes
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More complex narratives: hero, complication, resolution
Diversity of faces and environments
OK to be different
Play, humor, fun
Nursery rhymes and poetry
Imagination
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School readiness
Rebus books (pictures used for words)
Science and nonfiction
Themes of gratitude and appreciation
Rhymes and poetry
IMPACT + RESEARCH
Why Early Literacy Matters
🧠 90% of brain development happens before age 3
📘 Children in DPIL build libraries up to 60 books
👩🏫 Teachers report stronger kindergarten readiness
💬 Families read together 38% more
Regular reading builds vocabulary, memory, comprehension, and confidence.
With each monthly book, families create meaningful routines that help children grow — academically, emotionally, and socially.
The Imagination Library is one of the most impactful early-learning programs in the world.
The first five years of life are critical for brain development and language skills.
A child’s access to books—starting at birth—can be one of the strongest predictors of school success.
Through this program:
Children build their own home library of 60 books before kindergarten
Families share meaningful moments around reading
Our community grows stronger through early learning
United is the way we help every child start school ready to succeed.
Richer hicher Home Literacy Environments
Parents read aloud more to their children and were more comfortable reading as a result of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Parents reported their children owned more books as a result of participating in the program.
Improving Attitude and Skills
Parents believed their children were more interested in reading due to receiving the books each month.
Participating children were excited when their DPIL books arrived in the mail monthly, addressed specifically to the child.
Some studies found DPIL had promise with respect to developing children’s early literacy skills, as participants had more advanced skills than their classmates who did not participate in the program.
Positive Perceptions
Participating family members were overwhelmingly positive about the program and its impact on their children when asked in questionnaires, interviews, and focus groups.
Community members, including Imagination Library partners and preschool and kindergarten teachers, also had positive views of the program and its impact on book ownership and literacy practices in homes.
The positive views of the program and its impacts were present regardless of the demographic characteristics of the community or its participants, and longer program participation often resulted in more positive outcomes.
sponsorship
Inspire a Love of Reading: Make a Gift Today
Sponsor a Child — $30 Changes a Life
Your gift ensures children in Wapello County receive free books every month.
Just $30 sponsors one child for an entire year of Imagination Library books.
Businesses, families, civic groups, and individuals are invited to support early literacy locally.
When you sponsor a child, you’re placing books directly into little hands — building brighter futures for our youngest neighbors.
Whether you're giving as an individual, a family, a business, or in honor of someone special—your donation builds brighter futures, one book at a time.
🧡 Donate now and help us nurture a love of reading that lasts a lifetime.
Every dollar you give stays local + directly supports book delivery for children enrolled in Wapello County’s Imagination Library!
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90% of physical brain development occurs in the first three years of life, when a baby forms over 1 million new neural connections per second.
When a young child enters kindergarten ready for school, there is an 82% chance that the child will master basic skills by age 11, compared with a 45% chance for children who are not school-ready.
Later in life, at-risk children who do not receive high-quality early childhood experiences are 25% more likely to drop out of school, 40% more likely to become teen parents, and 60% less likely to attend college.
Investment in high-quality early childhood programs for at-risk children from birth to age five delivers a 7–10% annual return on investment through improved education, health, social and economic outcomes, increased productivity, and the reduced need for social spending.
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Each year, the esteemed Blue Ribbon Book Selection Committee, a specially selected panel of early childhood literacy experts, is responsible for reviewing hundreds of potential titles for inclusion in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
Provide the gift of literacy for all children, birth to age five
Inspire children to love books and reading
Support parents and communities in fostering a child’s success
From the first book, “The Little Engine That Could” to the last book, “Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!”, every book is selected with a special purpose.
The books are personalized with the child’s name and mailed directly to the child’s home to create a gifting experience that makes them feel special.
Select high-quality, age-appropriate books
Build a home library of books
Inspire a love of books, shared reading time
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Inspiring a Love of Books and Reading
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is the flagship program of The Dollywood Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Tennessee organization. The Imagination Library is dedicated to inspiring a love of reading by gifting FREE books to children from birth to age five. The program is made possible through funding shared by Dolly Parton herself, and local Program Partners in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and the Republic of Ireland.
Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write, Dolly started the Imagination Library in 1995 to serve the children of her hometown in Sevier County, Tennessee. Today, her program spans five countries and gifts over 3 million free, high-quality, age-appropriate books each month to children around the world. There is never a charge to families who participate in the program and it is open to all children under the age of five in geographic areas with operating programs.
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Blue Ribbon Selection Seal
Each book is specially selected by a panel of leading childhood literacy experts.
Bilingual English/Spanish Books
Two bilingual English/Spanish books are included each year in each age group.
New 100% Bilingual Book Option
In select states in the U.S., families have the option to enroll in our bilingual English/Spanish program where every book is bilingual.
Braille Books
Through a partnership with the American Printing House for the Blind, we are able to help provide books to children who are blind or low vision in the U.S.
Book-Specific Reading Tips
Most books have Reading Tips that extend the engagement and interaction between the child and caregiver.
Various Formats
Award-winning books are available in various formats:
Board Books
Flexibound
High-Quality Soft Cover
resources + downloads
Big Dreams Start with Little Books
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Enroll your child for free books at ImaginationLibrary.com
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2025 Blue Ribbon Selections
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![¡Nueva opción de libro bilingüe de la biblioteca Dolly Parton Imagination disponible próximamente para las familias de]()
¡Nueva opción de libro bilingüe de la biblioteca Dolly Parton Imagination disponible próximamente para las familias de Wapello!
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![Inspirar el amor por la lectura. Inscriba a su hija/o en Dolly Parton's Imagination Library y obtenga un LIBRO GRATIS todos los meses hasta que cumpla 5 años. Inscriba a WAPELLOCOUW.org/DPIL]()
Inspirar el amor por la lectura
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Register your child for a free book at wapellocouw.org/dpil
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Give the gift of reading at wapellocouw.org/donate
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Parent Reading Tips
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Consejos de la lectura para padres
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Give the Gift of Literacy to Wapello County Kids
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![SPONSORSHIP LEVELS $30 1 kid for 1 year! 12 books! $150 5 kids for 1 year! 60 books! $300 10 kids for 1 year! 120 books! $600 20 kids for 1 year! 240 books! $2,400 80 kids for 1 year! 960 books!]()
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Sponsorship Levels
FAQs
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Fill out the online registration form at imaginationlibrary.com
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It can take 6-10 weeks for your first book to arrive.
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No, the books are fully funded by United Way of Wapello County, local partners, and individual donors.
There is no cost to the family.
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Notify the Ottumwa Public Library any time your address changes. Books are mailed to the address listed on the account.
If the child's address changes, you must contact the Ottumwa Public Library in order to continue receiving books.
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Yes, each child under age 5 can receive their own books.
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Sponsor a child, host a fundraiser, share the program with your personal network, or donate to keep books free for all families.
Contact us at uwwc@wapellocouw.org
or call 641-682-1264 to:
Enroll a child
Ask about business or civic sponsorships
Learn more about the impact of your donation
