Did you know that reading to your children can predict their future economic success, help them build empathy, and improve their language development? Reading is one of the key things that experts say helps your child's mind develop. Having access to free, high-quality, age-appropriate books removes a large barrier for several families to start reading to their children, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library seeks to help do just that. Dr. Bryce Peterson and the Farmington-Centerville Rotary Club have brought The Imagination Library to Davis County, in Farmington and Centerville.
What is Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library?
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a free book gifting program that allows registered children from birth to 5 years of age to have access to free, age-appropriate books each month that are mailed directly to their homes. There are 3,197,250 children (equivalent to 1 in 7 in the USA) currently registered worldwide. The program has given 264,181,752 books since 1995.
Dr. Peterson says, “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is an exciting program started 30 years ago. Her father was illiterate, and she started a program giving books for free to children in her hometown in Eastern Tennessee.” He adds, “It has evolved to the point where she has given away a quarter of a billion books since the program started to kids all over the country aged 0-5. Through my engagement with the Farmington-Centerville Rotary Club, we are extremely excited to announce that we are starting this program in South Davis County.”
Why is it important to read to your kids?
“A fun statistic is that the number of books in a family's home, regardless of how much parents can read to them, does predict high school graduation rates. We also know that the number of minutes a parent can spend reading to a child directly predicts the child’s future economic success and their ability to provide an income. Those are fun statistics, and we are also talking about an incredibly special time when you just get to sit down with your child and read a book with them,” says Dr. Peterson.
When did you get involved with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library?
“My engagement with this program started about 7 years ago. I had started to think of ways I could improve the lives of families in my practice and the way I saw we could intervene with a positive impact was through books. I would give away a book to each child I saw for a well visit, and then I started giving away books to parents when they left the hospital with their newborns. I eventually encountered Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, and it is a much bigger program with a much better fit for the overall goal, it was a very natural partnership for me.”
What are your goals for this program?
Dr. Peterson hopes he’ll soon be able to engage with more sponsors to expand coverage to all of Davis County—and eventually the rest of Utah. “My vision for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is to provide this wonderful benefit to all of the children in Utah so that they can read more.”
How can I sign up for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library?
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is partnering with the Farmington-Centerville Rotary Club to offer this program locally at this time. If you are a resident of Centerville (84014) or Farmington (84025) you can register here for the program. Your child must be born (you cannot register while currently pregnant), and it must be before their 5th birthday. If they are between those ages, they can sign up and get a book a month each month for free!
About Ogden Clinic: Ogden Clinic is a leading healthcare provider offering comprehensive medical services to patients across four counties in Northern Utah. With over 25 locations and over 200 healthcare providers, Ogden Clinic provides high-quality, personalized care to patients of all ages.
