Dolly Parton book scheme to launch in market town
Getty ImagesA children's literacy scheme founded by country music icon Dolly Parton is set to launch in Selby, providing free books to youngsters until they start school.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is being introduced as part of a wider £400,000 initiative aimed at improving outcomes for children and young people across North Yorkshire.
Families who sign up will receive a free book through the post each month from birth until their child's fifth birthday.
Parton, who died on 25 August at the age of 80, launched the scheme as a tribute to her father, who was unable to read.
In the UK, seven million books have been sent to children since it was launched in Rotherham in 2007, the Imagination Library says.
It also operates in the US, Australia, Canada and Ireland, with 332.4 million books sent out globally.
Regional mayor David Skaith said the scheme aimed to improve "early literacy and school readiness" while encouraging a love of reading among young children.
Selby's project is one of two pilot schemes being funded through the Cradle to Career programme launched by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The other is a baby box initiative in Scarborough based on a model used in Finland.
Skaith said reading with children could help give them "the best start in life".
"The Dolly Parton Imagination Library has donated more than 330 million books worldwide and we are incredibly proud that Selby will be the next home of a chapter of her legacy," he said.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the programme was approved at a meeting of the combined authority on Friday.
Speaking during the meeting, North Yorkshire Council deputy leader Mark Crane said the singer had left "a fantastic legacy" through her charitable work.
Cabinet member Bob Webb said encouraging children and parents to read together could have lasting benefits.
"That practice of reading together, and for a child to see their parents reading, makes such a difference to their lives in terms of developing cognition, speech and language," he said.
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