I briefly mentioned The Imagination Library in a previous post, but I think that it deserves a post of its own. The Imagination Library is a nonprofit organization started by singer/actress Dolly Parton in 1996, to foster a love of reading in preschool aged children. By partnering with various local communities, The Imagination Library sends out a free, age appropriate book each month to every registered child until they turn 5 years of age. You can check out the fundamental themes and concepts in the books for each age here.

I signed up for the Imagination Library back in July of 2011, and completely forgot about it because it took several months before we received our first book, The Little Engine That Could. Since then we’ve also received I Am a Rainbow, Llama Llama Red Pajama (one of Charlie’s favorite books), Read to Tiger (Charlie also loves this), Tomie de Paola’s Mother Goose, and Old Bear and His Cub. Not only is the program completely free, but you actually get great books! It’s a wonderful program that has helped us discover books we might not have otherwise.

These books were sent out for the month of February for each age level:


ADVERTISEMENT

(Everyone’s first book – The Little Engine That Could, Children born this year –  Giggles With Daddy, Children turning 1 –  Corduroy Goes to the Doctor, Children turning 2 – Llama, Llama Red Pajama, Children turning 3  – Old Bear & His Cub, Children turning 4 – The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush, Children turning 5  –  Holler Loudly, Graduate Book – Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!)

There are currently over 600,000 registered children!  The Imagination Library is open to residents of the US, Canada, and the UK, but regional availability depends on local affiliates, so check out the website to see if it’s available in your area.