<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=37jMwb_0udeD2Vk00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=37jMwb_0udeD2Vk00" width="1500" height="844" >LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — The 5 millionth book sent to a child in Arkansas from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library hit the mail today from the Forest Park Post Office in Little Rock.The excitement was present at the post office as Imagination Library board members teamed up with the United States Postal Service to get the book "Look Out Kindergarten, Here I Come!" one step closer to being in the hands of a kid right here in Arkansas.A graduate of the library, Reece Dedman, was at the post office this morning, and he speaks about how the program impacted him.“I love it because it inspires me, a lot because, I love my imagination," Dedman says.He shares his passion with the iconic country singer Dolly Parton, who put fame aside and put kids first when she started a free book gifting program for kinds under the age of five to inspire a love for reading in children.Since an Arkansas board embarked on that journey in 2005, ten years after Dolly established the program in 1995, 84,000 kids have been impacted in the state.Dedman was gifted 60 books, all from the program, as every kid that starts the program as an infant is.He says he still has all of his books, including his favorite, "Coat of Many Colors."“It just makes me happy inside," Dedman says.Fred Leonard, Chair of the Arkansas Imagination Library Board, says this is a two-generational approach to get parents to read to their kids and encourage kids to learn to read.“I think reading is essential to the success of everyday life," Leonard says.The state board has local partners who run the program in their community to raise money to give books for free, and the state board matched that cost.One of those local partners is in Pulaski County, and their director Sarah Argue has has believed in the Imagination Library from the start.“It was a natural. It was a natural fit, it was exciting, it is such a tremendous opportunity. We know through research one of the best things we can do for childhood development is to make sure kids are reading," Argue says.She says there's a disparity of the number of books children have, and knowing that the 5 millionth book in Arkansas is being sent to fill that gap, she has strong emotions.“It’s amazing! I mean this is the way we change the face of our state," Argue says.Its impact is seen in Dedman's life, and he wants to encourage other young readers.“Reading is good, it helps you make up your imagination," Dedman says.Nationwide, the Imagination Library reports that one in seven children under the age of five reap the benefits of the library.To sign your own kid up for the program, you can visit arkansasimaginationlibrary.org.</div></body>

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Arkansas celebrates milestone with 5 millionth book from Dolly Parton's philanthropy

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — The 5 millionth book sent to a child in Arkansas from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library hit the mail today from the Forest Park Post Office in Little Rock. The excitement was present at the post office as Imagination Library board members teamed up with the...