Ex Libris: Dolly Parton

Country and Western superstar singer Dolly Parton meets young children at the Magna Science and Adventure Park, on Dec. 5, 2007, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. Dolly Parton honored the former steelworks town to be the first European location to participate in her Imagination Library. The charitable program encourages young children to discover the joys of reading, with every participating preschool age child being sent a free book every month. Pool/Getty Images

Born in 1946, Dolly Parton grew up dirt-poor in a cabin on Tennessee’s Little Pigeon River. Her rise to success since that hardscrabble beginning is one of America’s classic rags-to-riches stories. Parton has sold over 100 million records worldwide, composed thousands of songs—many of which remain unpublished—acted in movies, written books, founded one of America’s premier entertainment centers (Dollywood), and won dozens of awards. Today, fans and critics alike rightly consider her a country music legend.

In the Smokies, Parton is also known and loved for her generosity to the place she calls home. Most recently, for instance, Parton and her businesses donated $2 million for the relief of victims of Hurricane Helene.

But Parton’s greatest work of charity is her Imagination Library, which now gives over 2 million books every month to children in the United States and abroad. Mindful of her father’s illiteracy, in 1995, Parton began a foundation to provide books to children from birth to age 5, first in Sevier County where she grew up, and then in the region. As the Imagination Library expanded beyond the borders of Tennessee, children began calling Parton “The Book Lady,” of which she once wrote: “My daddy just loved it when all the little kids would call me ‘The Book Lady.’ That meant more to him than the fact that I had become a star.”

With that nickname, it only stands to reason that books would have influenced and shaped Parton herself.

 ‘I Think I Can, I Think I Can’

The original classic edition of "The Little Engine That Could" by Watty Piper.

Odds are that a good many readers recognized the subheader above, the classic line from Watty Piper’s “The Little Engine That Could.” Here’s what Parton says of the book she treasured in her childhood:

“My favorite book of all time is ‘The Little Engine That Could’ by Watty Piper because it inspired me when I was just a kid and still inspires me today. In fact, I love it so much I asked that it be the very first book in my Imagination Library for the children in the United States and Canada. We even have produced a musical based on the book that is performed each summer at Dollywood.

“Of course, everybody knows ‘I Think I Can, I Think I Can.’ To me, it is one of those simple but powerful messages for us all to believe in ourselves and always strive to fulfill your dreams. I often say that little phrase over and over to help conquer my apprehensions or my nerves before I am about to launch into something that is just a little bit scary to me. Once I do it, it restores my confidence and allows me to go from the little Engine that Could to the Little Engine that Did!”

A Mama’s Love

Parton credits her love of books, particularly the Bible, to her mother. When she was small, the fourth child of 12, she would snuggle up to her mother and delight in hearing stories read to her from Scripture. In “Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You,” her short book based on a 2009 commencement address she gave at the University of Tennessee,  Parton wrote, “The stories from the Old Testament were wild, vivid stories of good and bad that both scared and excited me. It made me want to know more, and most of all, it made me want to read more.”

In 1977, country music queen Dolly Parton performed at the King's Theatre, Glasgow, at a Scottish Royal Jubilee Television Special in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II. Keystone/Getty Images

A lifelong student of the Bible, Parton also remains a fervent believer in the value of reading aloud to children. “Having such a loving, accepting mother made us all feel special. All little kids were special in our world. If I hadn’t had the good mother I did, ‘The Coat of Many Colors,’ and all the things that we do for kids probably wouldn’t have happened. So I do think that life can be part of a pattern for good for those that do believe.”

Eclectic Tastes

During her busy career, Parton never lost her love of reading. She goes through some 50 books a year and credits reading as a means of escape from her busy life while also sparking her own creativity. “Today I read everything I can get my hands on. I believe that when you read, even if you don’t get a chance to get an education, you can learn about everything.”

In addition to her reading, Parton has also written books, ranging from a well-received autobiography to children’s stories. Most recently, she and her sister Rachel Parton George put out “Good Lookin’ Cookin’: A Year of Meals,” a compilation of holiday recipes.

But it is Imagination Library that will keep alive her title “The Book Lady.” In “Dream More,” her dedication to the book reads in part: “I dedicate this book to all of the people who have helped me with my Imagination Library and believe as I do that reading is fuel for a child’s imagination. … This book is for my Daddy, who never learned to read and write, and paid a dear price for that, and inspired me to not let it happen to others.”

Dolly Parton's "Dream More: Celebrate the Dreamer in You" is an extended text based on a commencement speech given at the University of Tennessee in 2009.

To date, the Imagination Library has delivered “over 200 million free, age-appropriate books” to youngsters in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the UK, many of whom would likely not have received books at all. Parton’s efforts in the fight for literacy have earned her a place in the hearts of readers everywhere.

As they say in the mountains, she did her Daddy proud.

What arts and culture topics would you like us to cover? Please email ideas or feedback to [email protected]