Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which is her charity that gives free books to children, has just given away its 100 millionth book.
That particular book that crossed the milestone was Parton’s own children’s picture book, Coat of Many Colors, which was titled after her 1971 single of the same name. It was given to the Library of Congress in Washington, where Parton has has a partnership to livestream story readings.
Parton established the Imagination Library in honor of her late father, who was illiterate. The program, which was launched in 1995, began by donating books to children in Parton’s home state of Tennessee, and spread to sending books to children all over the world.
Parton told Good Morning America on Feb. 28 how much the program—and the milestone of 100 million books—meant to her: “My daddy couldn’t read and write and that always troubled him and bothered him so I wanted to do something special for him,” she said. “So I got the idea to start this program and let my dad help me with it and he got to live long enough to hear the kids call me the ‘book lady.’”
Parton has a number of remarkable accomplishments under her belt, including last month’s certifications in the 2018 edition of the Guinness World Records for the following achievements: Most Decades with a Top 20 Hit on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart, and Most Hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart by a Female Artist.
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