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Free Children's Books for Delaware County Families Thanks to Country Music Legend

Great news for Delaware County families with children 5 and under! The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a program that was created to help improve literacy rates among young children by providing them with free books each month. The program was started by country music legend Dolly Parton in 1995 in her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee. Since then, it has grown to include thousands of communities across the United States and beyond. Recently, it was announced that the program is coming to Delaware County, Oklahoma, much to the excitement of parents and educators in the area. The Imagination Library is open to any child from birth to age five who lives in a participating community. Each month, the child will receive a new age-appropriate book in the mail, free of charge. The program is designed to promote early childhood literacy and to help children develop a love of reading. By making books easily accessible to families, the program aims to improve children's vocabulary, language skills, and cognitive development. The announcement that the Imagination Library is coming to Delaware County, Oklahoma, is exciting news for parents and educators in the area. According to data from the Oklahoma Department of Education, only 43% of third graders in Delaware County were reading at grade level in 2019. This is well below the state average of 73%. By providing young children with access to books and encouraging them to read at an early age, the Imagination Library has the potential to improve these literacy rates and help set children on a path to success. The Imagination Library is made possible through partnerships between local organizations, businesses, and individuals who fund the program. In Delaware County, the program is being spearheaded by the Grove Rotary Club.

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