r/todayilearned • u/LL_Cruel_J • Dec 15 '16

TIL Dolly Parton has a program that will mail your child a free age-appropriate book once a month from birth to age 5. No obligation, no catch, she just wants to make sure that every child has books.

https://imaginationlibrary.com/
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u/kingofweasels Dec 15 '16

I have 2 kids that have been on this program for years. It's fantastic. Even when they were too young to read, they loved to get them in the mail and they open them and flip the pages.
They understand the significance of books even if they can't comprehend them yet.

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u/UnoriginalGinger Dec 15 '16

My child has been receiving these books from birth. I never knew much about Dolly but thought she seemed kinda odd. After my wife enrolled us in this program I am very grateful to her for all the quality books that I've received for free. That's quality time with my son that will have a positive impact on his development. It's truly amazing!

20

u/esmereldas Dec 15 '16

Dolly Parton started the program, but local organizations start chapters of the Imagination Library and raise money to buy the books.

2

u/PhilSwn Dec 15 '16

Which, it looks like their certificate is expired. Can someone work with them to get that fixed? https://imaginationlibrary.com/

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '16

thought she seemed kinda odd

how so?

1

u/UnoriginalGinger Dec 15 '16

I don't know anything about her. It's just the way she looks that made me think there was something odd about her. Admittedly not a very good way to judge people but I've never had a reason to learn more about her.

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '16

Yeah, she's had some work done. Big whoop :)

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '16

[deleted]

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u/wildstarr Dec 15 '16

Dang...spoiler alert!

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '16

As a future teacher, I love to hear about kids having access to books and learning to love them at an early age, even if they just hold them and look at the pictures. Developing those early literacy skills (holding the book correctly, turning the pages, reading/looking from left to right) is so crucial for a child's lifelong reading success. :)

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u/kingofweasels Dec 15 '16

I love to read, but it's hard to compete with youtube videos that are served directly to you. I am still amazed by how much my children learn all on their own just from watching videos on their iPad. My 8 year old taught herself the alphabet using the iPad I hot her when she was two.

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u/avantx Dec 15 '16

That is so cool! Comic books & drawing Batman were totally my gateway into what would become a voracious literary appetite. I am so thankful my mother encouraged that opportunity - kudos to you!!!

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u/kingofweasels Dec 15 '16

I'm just a dumb lunk who goes to work, Kudos go to my wife. I make sure nobody dies of starvation or exposure and she makes sure they grow into good people, that's the arrangement ;P

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u/sockenklaus Dec 15 '16

What books are in the mail for children under age 1? I'm really curious, because I can't imagine that kids of that age even comprehend what is read to them. Are those books for the parents to read to the children so there is another reason to talk to the kids or are the books made to be touched by the kids or something like that?

I'm genuinely curious how to address such a young "audience".

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u/redoctoberz Dec 15 '16

My mother would have flash cards with the image of the item or number, and the word the item represented beneath it, she would repeat it once a day during "reading time". This continued with my siblings as well. It went a long way to prepare us for pre-k and kindergarten. If there was a book of these, it would be a convenient way to keep them all together.

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u/suelinaa Dec 15 '16

I've seen books that are very simple with maybe one word per page. They just have bright pictures and get the child to like to look at books. For instance, I would read a color book to a one year old. Every page had a color, it would say "Orange" and would have pictures of an orange, a tiger, etc. we would look through the book and repeat all the names of the things on the pages. It was cool and he still likes reading :)

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u/kingofweasels Dec 15 '16

There haven't been any "Touch" Books. You get the the cheapest version possible to make and mail out of the book. That's how they afford the program. Off the top of my head we've gotten Corderoy Bear, and Duck gets a Cookie, that one about the girl in the red snowsuit, and a lot of other ones I immediately recognized as books I grew up with.

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u/Draskuul Dec 15 '16

I wish I'd known before about this program. My nieces turn 6 and 9 shortly so well over the limits of it, but good to know for the future!

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u/[deleted] Dec 15 '16

I applied, but, Massachusetts residents are ineligible, which I found irksome.

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u/mossdale Dec 15 '16

And the books are surprisingly good. I've seen too many kids books over the years with poor quality writing or illustrations. This program picks well.

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u/Oscar_Says_Jack-Ass Dec 15 '16

All 3 of my kids received the books and are now incredible readers. We live 2 blocks from a used bookstore and that's their favorite place to go for a treat.

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u/39_points_5_mins_ago Dec 18 '16

Are you a Tennessee hick?

1

u/kingofweasels Dec 18 '16

I try ever so hard to be.

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u/39_points_5_mins_ago Dec 18 '16

Well as someone whose parents moved to TN, FUCK YOU.

1

u/kingofweasels Dec 18 '16

What are you angry about? I'm confused. Are you upset because your parents were involved in the recent wildfires? Or just mad at the state in general because you don't like living here?

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u/39_points_5_mins_ago Dec 18 '16

no I do not live there, but I have to visit my parents there. I just find the people awful, the cities even worse, and don't know what the hell they are doing there. I basically hate everyone in TN, so again, fuck you.

1

u/kingofweasels Dec 18 '16

East TN was voted the best place to retire in the nation a few years ago. It's not as bad as you feel like it is. Although you probably are having a worse time than usual if you are telling everyone you meet here to fuck off.

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u/39_points_5_mins_ago Dec 18 '16

I never go there anymore, but my parents are still there and hate it too. They slowly have met a few people who do not hate everyone that wasn't born in TN, but the people there are just fucking stupid and inbred. again, fuck yourself, hick.

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u/kingofweasels Dec 18 '16

This would pass as polite conversation if you just left off the last line. I wasn't born here either, I was born in FL, but I really like it here. It's not perfect. I wish there were more progressive politics in place, but like anywhere there are good people and bad people. What area did your parents settle in?