Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Sends Free Books to Kids Fully Bilingual Option Available in California

California is kicking off a statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library— providing free books to all California children under five. With the program, a free book arrives in the mail every month, and California is the first state to offer a fully bilingual book option. The Imagination Library is a great addition to Sonoma County’s early literacy efforts, which include Sonoma County Library’s 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program, Stories to Go bilingual book kits and more. The Sonoma County Library system boasts 17 locations, including 12 regional libraries, two rural stations and three special collections, as well as an expansive digital collection.

“Dolly Parton has demonstrated time and time again her commitment to helping people, especially children. As librarians, we know that getting a child to read at grade level by the end of third grade has an immense impact on literacy and educational outcomes for their entire lives,” said Sonoma County Library Director Erika Thibault. “This book program will help families and children develop a lifelong love of reading. We are thrilled to work with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide a fully bilingual Spanish/English option for our entire county.”

To learn more about California’s expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library visit library.ca.gov/services/to-public/imagination-library.

Dolly Parton said, “I’m so thrilled at the overwhelming support to make my Imagination Library available to every child in California! I want to thank Senator Shannon Grove and Senator Toni Atkins for inspiring tremendous support from California legislators and Governor Gavin Newsom for enthusiastically signing this bill. Today is an amazing milestone for children and families across the state! We still have a lot of work to do, but together we can inspire a love of reading in children across California that will last a lifetime.”

Looking for more free books after you sign up for the Imagination Library? Visit your local Sonoma County Library in person, or online at sonomalibrary.org for thousands of films, TV shows, eBooks, databases, magazines, classes, video games and more. No library card? No problem! Come into any branch to get your free library card or create a library eCard online at sonomalibrary.org/get-a-library-card.