Source : the age
Tears were shed around the globe after Dolly Parton’s death, but for some of the many children in Australia who have received the gift of books thanks to the US singer’s generosity, the news landed particularly hard.
In south-west Victoria, seven-year-old Willow Board cried because she’d lost her hero, who had been sending her a book every month since she was born.
“Thanks Miss Dolly,” Willow used to say each time she got a book from the letterbox.
Those deliveries were thanks to the Imagination Library, Parton’s free book gifting program, established in 1995, which has delivered 300 million books to children all over the world.
When she was five, Willow was one of a handful of kids who got to meet Parton via video link. They talked about favourite books and the fact they both come from big families (Willow has six siblings). Parton spoke to every child.
After hearing about Parton’s death, Willow said: “God would say she should be back on earth because she is a real-life angel.”
Inspiration for the library, which gives a book a month to a child until they turn five, came from Parton’s own life – “my own dad who was not able to read nor write but was one of the smarter people one would ever want to know”.
“Daddy was able to see [the program] take off and do good, and to hear the kids call me the book lady, he got such a kick out of that,” Parton said, adding that he considered it the best thing she ever did.
Every delivery comes with information about the story and its author, as well as ideas for parents to discuss with their child after they finish reading the book.
Those tips are designed to help improve parents’ literacy, giving them skills teachers might use, such as encouraging the child to predict the story based on the cover or pictures within.
The Imagination Library partners with Australian providers to deliver the program, including not-for-profit United Way, which has done so since 2013.
United Way Australia CEO Lyndsey McKee says early literacy was identified as a clear need in Australia when the organisation became involved. “We knew that there was this wonderful program that was trusted and loved by many,” she says. “Those early years are absolutely critical.”
Around 50,000 children are enrolled currently in Australia, and more than 134,000 have taken part since its introduction. “The evidence is so significant around what a book in the home can mean for children in those critical years,” says McKee. “A child is 10 times more developmentally vulnerable if there is no reading at home.”
How books are provided differs from state to state. In Victoria, United Way partners with kindergartens, while in NSW, it’s mainly through the Department of Education; local libraries are also often involved. About 70 per cent of the books are by Australian authors or illustrators, including about 10 per cent Indigenous creatives.
Victor, left, and Jamie take part in Dolly Parton’s library through the Glebe Treehouse in Sydney. Sam Mooy
Helen Michael is a facilitator at Sydney’s Glebe Treehouse, a community centre that provides bridging programs between the community and schools. It runs playgroups for children aged zero to five, with about 101 kids registered for the Imagination Library, including about 55 First Nations families.
A huge fan of the concept, Michael says even five minutes of shared reading time makes a big difference. As well as helping literacy, research shows how powerful that is in that time together helps bonding, calms the child’s nervous system, exposes them to early learning and, longer term, helps prevent low self-esteem around literacy, which will improve socio-economic outcomes. It’s so powerful, she says, it may start as something as simple as a little nursery rhyme between a parent or foster parent, but it has a huge impact.
South-west Victorian teacher Grace Greenham, mother of Hazel, 3, and Hugo, 10 months, agrees – her daughter has been receiving a book each month through the Imagination Library since she was a baby.
“Hazel is at the age now where getting mail is very exciting for her, especially when it’s a book with her name on it,” she says.
“Hazel is only three but we’ve read to her since she was born and even as a 12 or 18-month-old she would sit down with us on our laps and ask for a story. When it’s something you start from such an early age it becomes part of their everyday life and something they really look forward to.”
In her work as a teacher, Greenham sees firsthand the impact of reading at home. “I notice a huge difference in the classroom of students who have been read to consistently, not only in their ability to pick up reading and language skills quickly but also in their vocab when they are speaking as well.
“Literacy is so important and that families regardless of their circumstances are able to access [books] is just fantastic,” she says. “It’s incredible the Imagination Library is all over the world; Dolly has left an amazing legacy.”
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