Delaware Residents Get Country Music Treat As Dolly Parton Performs In Celebration Of Imagination Library
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) - Country music star Dolly Parton was in the First State on Thursday for a celebration of reading and those in attendance were treated to a concert by the country music legend.
The cell phones were out at Wilmington Public Library which hosted the statewide celebration of Parton's Imagination Library.
Thanks to the program, kids in Delaware will get a free book each month from birth to 5 years old.
It was a song that moved members of the audience, including the governor's wife, to tears.
"It was really heartfelt and I just love the reference to her mother," Gov. John Carney said.
But Dolly Parton wasn't at the Wilmington Public Library for a concert. The country music icon stopped by Thursday afternoon for a celebration of her imagination library.
"I can't think of a better program to prepare our young ones to go to school to be successful to read by 3rd grade," Carney said.
Parton's program is a tribute to her father, who never learned to read.
"My dad was always bothered by that, and I loved my daddy and I was bothered by the fact that he was bothered with it. So I came up with the idea to do something great so children could learn to read," Parton said.
Since Parton's Imagination Library was founded 26 years ago more than 180 million books have been given out.
"It's just a good learning experience with the books for the kids," mother Cassidy Anderson said.
The imagination library, which is now statewide in Delaware, is available to children in five countries.
Parton's dream is to see it expand.
Families can sign up for the Imagination Library on Delaware Libraries' website, here.
