Dolly Parton promotes her free book program for children 5 and younger in Ohio

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When asked how she would like to be remembered 100 years from now, Tennessee superstar Dolly Parton had a quick-witted reply.

"I want them to say, 'Golly, she looks good for her age,'" Parton told a crowd gathered at Ohio State University's Ohio Union to celebrate Parton's efforts to bring free books to children.

"But in addition to that, I just want to be a person remembered for trying to make life a little better for myself as well as everybody else," said Parton, who wore a glittering blazer and warm smile.

Happy Dolly Parton Day! Dolly Parton Day declared for Aug. 9 by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to celebrate Imagination Library

Few people – no less celebrities – can unite teenagers and their grandparents, conservatives and liberals, country music lovers and pop ballad fans quite like Parton.

"She's just universally accepted," said Ohio first lady Fran DeWine during a Monday interview at the Ohio Governor's Residence. "People understand that she has really a goodness about her, and she's very talented, and she's very open, and she's very accepting, and we all love her."

There's another reason to love Parton: She's a champion of children's literacy.

Aug 9, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA;  Dolly Parton sings during Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine's luncheon to celebrate the success and raise money for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
Aug 9, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Dolly Parton sings during Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine's luncheon to celebrate the success and raise money for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch

Dolly Parton's Imagination Library expands in Ohio

Parton launched Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 1995 by sending free books to children in Sevier County, Tennessee, where she was born and raised. She started the program to honor her father, Robert “Lee” Parton, who died in 2000.

“Daddy didn’t get a chance to read and write and he was always kind of embarrassed by that,” Parton said. “I just always felt my heart was always heavy that my Daddy felt like there was something he couldn’t do, because we thought he could do anything.”

Now, those free books are available for children ages 5 and younger across the world – including every county in Ohio. Parton joined DeWine, her husband Gov. Mike DeWine and other literacy advocates Tuesday to celebrate the program's success so far and push for more participants.

“The DeWines. I love that name, don’t you?" Parton riffed during the event. "Please pass the DeWine.”

'It’s better to give than to receive': Dolly Parton discusses book program's legacy

Free books for Ohio kids: How to sign up for the new Governor's Imagination Library

Nearly 328,000 Ohio children – about 45% of those eligible – are currently receiving free books each month. The program is available to all children regardless of their families' income. The first book delivered is "The Little Engine that Could" and the final book is "Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come."

Parton's Imagination Library offers these books at a fraction of their original cost – $2.10 per child, per month. To pay for the books, Ohio lawmakers allocated $18 million to match what local organizations, such as United Way or Easterseals, chip in.

Fran DeWine has championed the early literacy program since Mike DeWine took office in 2019.

"It was an easy sell," said Fran DeWine while the family dog – a springer spaniel named Dolly after Parton – nestled nearby. "(Lawmakers) realized that this is just an incredible way to help get our kids ready for kindergarten."

Why early reading matters

Reading is an essential skill for success in school and later in life, research shows. But many children enter kindergarten without the tools to succeed, and those delays can follow kids throughout their lives.

Nearly two-thirds of Ohio's fourth graders weren't reading proficiently in 2019 – a figure that hasn't changed much in the past decade and mirrors the national average, according to annual KIDS COUNT data released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

But reading to infants and young children can address some of Ohio's literacy problems. For example, children in a reading program improved kindergarten readiness by 15% over the three years, according to a Cincinnati Children's study published last year.

Fran DeWine learned about the importance of reading in her early childhood development classes at Miami University. But she also experienced firsthand how early literacy helped her eight children and 26 grandchildren.

It was Fran DeWine's grandchildren who introduced her to Parton's Imagination Library. They would rip off the packaging from the shrink-wrapped books and beg their grandmother to read to them.

"I saw how even these kids were thrilled to get a book addressed to them in the mail," she said. "And I thought, 'This is so cool.'"

Aug 9, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA;  Dolly Parton speaks during Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine's luncheon to celebrate the success and raise money for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch
Aug 9, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Dolly Parton speaks during Ohio First Lady Fran DeWine's luncheon to celebrate the success and raise money for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch

Years later, Fran DeWine is happy to read books to children across Ohio. (Her go-to read is Eric Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar.") And she's happy – if a little nervous – to invite Parton to Ohio.

Fran DeWine first met Parton at a 2016 concert she attended with Mike and their daughter Anna. The now-first lady thanked Parton afterward for the work she did to help children learn to read.

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Little did she know that Parton would return to Ohio years later to celebrate Ohio's Imagination Library. The governor declared Tuesday "Dolly Parton Day" in the state. Both DeWines said their favorite Parton song was "I Will Always Love You."

Parton closed out the event by singing "Coat of Many Colors" and "Try," an apt song for a room filled with people dedicated to improving how children read and learn.

And the first step is the one that's always hardest.

But you'll never really know if you don't try.

You have to try.

How to sign up for free books

You can enroll your child by going to ohioimaginationlibrary.org/enroll. The list of books is available at imaginationlibrary.com/usa/book-list.

Jessie Balmert is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Akron Beacon Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer, Columbus Dispatch and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Dolly Parton visits Ohio to celebrate free kids' book program