Books for Kids: Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library returns to Fort McMurray thanks to Red Cross grant

For a four-year-old child, receiving a package in the mail is about as exciting as it gets. So imagine the delight when a book is delivered every month.
 
That’s the idea behind the Imagination Library of Wood Buffalo in northern Alberta. The organization delivers an age-appropriate book monthly to more than 1,800 children, from birth until they reach the age of five.
 
“The more you read to your child, the more of a positive impact it will  have on their emotional and literacy needs,” says the organization’s chair, Julianne North Bourque. “And when they reach school, they’re not behind in learning capability. They have a large vocabulary and more confidence.”
 
The Imagination Library is the brainchild of country singer and philanthropist Dolly Parton, who was inspired by her own father’s inability to read. In 1995, she started a literacy program for children. Today, the program operates in five countries, with 1.7 million books distributed each month.

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