Robert Lee Parton never learned to read or write. 📚
His daughter, singer Dolly Parton, grew up watching him sign with an X whenever he was asked for his name. That memory never left her, and in 1995 she turned it into something tangible: Imagination Library, a program that sends one free book every month to every enrolled child, from birth until they turn 5.
It began in Sevier, the Tennessee county where she was born, and today reaches children in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Ireland. In October 2025, for its 30th anniversary, the program announced that it had delivered more than 300 million books.
It currently distributes nearly 3,4 million each month. All because a man who could not read wanted to make sure no child grew up without that opportunity. 💛 One of the many legacies left by the Queen of Country. Rest in peace, Dolly 🕊️
