Printer-friendly versionSend to friend

The Imagination Library is now making books available to visually impaired and blind children. 

  The Imagination Library is now being made available for the blind thanks to the American Printing House for the Blind and the Dollywood Foundation. Since 2011 the two entities have been working to make the quest of bringing literature to the blind children enrolled in the program a reality. The APH has been working to expand Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library so that they can provide young blind and visually impaired children from birth to kindergarten age with free, accessible books. For the past year, audio versions of dozens of titles have been available as a download from the APH web site, and now five titles each year will also be available in braille. This year's books include: Old Bear and His Cub (by Olivier Dunrea), A Mud Pie for Mother (by Scott Beck), My Lucky Day (by Keiko Kasza), Read to Tiger (by S. J. Fore), and Llama Llama Misses Mama (by Anna Dewdney).

   Among Parton’s most passionate humanitarian efforts is her commitment to encourage a love of reading among preschool children and their families through her Imagination Library.  “I am so excited that we can now bring this same joy to all children who may have trouble seeing but have no trouble in believing that all of their dreams can come true,” said Parton.

   The titles selected from the current year’s list of DPIL books published by Penguin Group, are those most appropriate to translate into braille. For this first year, there are 200 copies of each of the five titles available free to blind and visually impaired children.  Applications for the books will be accepted on a first come/first served basis.

“We’re very excited that APH's partnership with DPIL not only expands the number of accessible books for young children, but also connects families to a wide range of resources that will enable them to locate and bring more accessible books into their home,” said APH President Tuck Tinsley. “All children should have books of their own to share with parents and grandparents -- more braille -- more literacy.”

   This free program is made possible through the generous support of donors from across the country who believe all children deserve an opportunity to read and learn.  APH welcomes contributions to help defray initial costs and to expand the program so more children will benefit from this service. The American Printing House for the Blind is a registered 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization - all donations are tax-deductible.

   Parents and legal guardians of visually impaired children from birth to kindergarten age can apply and enroll a child in the program by visiting  www.aph.org/dpil/apply or calling 502-899-2361. Please help us spread the word to families who can benefit from this service.

   For more information about APH, visit www.aph.org. For more information about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com, or the official Facebook page.

   If you would like to donate to this program, visit www.aph.org/donate

   The Imagination Library was founded in 1996 in Parton’s native Sevier County in East Tennessee, The Imagination Library works with thousands of local sponsors such as United Way, Rotary, and Kiwanis to provide an age appropriate book to participating children ages five and under in 1,642 communities in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom.  In 2011, 685,000 children participated each month and nearly 8,000,000 books were distributed, bringing the total number of books given out by the program since it started to 42,000,000.

   To provide the Imagination Library, a community must make the program accessible to all preschool children in their area, and the community pays for the books, promotes the program, and registers the children. Parton’s not-for-profit Dollywood Foundation manages the delivery of books to children’s homes.

   The Dollywood Foundation is based in Pigeon Forge, TN. For more information, visit www.imaginationlibrary.com or the official Facebook page.