Working in a collaborative effort, representatives from the Williamson County Library, Leadership Brentwood, Franklin Special School District, Williamson County Schools, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Friends of Children’s Hospital, Brentwood Library and United Way of Williamson County, have brought Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to Williamson County. Now Williamson County children up to the age of five will be receiving free children’s books when their parents enroll them in the program. Click here to go to enrollment web site.

Here’s how it works: parent’s with children under the age of five, register their child with Books from Birth of Middle Tennessee. One free hardback children’s book per month will then be sent by mail to the child’s household. Registration information can be found at the Williamson County and Brentwood libraries, pediatrician offices county-wide, or online at www.vanderbiltchildrens.com/booksfrombirth. The books are both a gift to the children and a monthly reminder to parents and caregivers to read to their child. Our main goal is to have children reading at grade level by the end of third grade and steps like this are a building block for that goal.

Program cost: 12 free books per year totals just $27, which covers the books and postage. Half of the program funds are raised by our local community. The Governors Books from Birth Foundation matches the community money with state money. The program’s low administrative cost is possible because it is made available to all of Tennessee’s children without complicated criteria. The estimated value of these twelve books, at retail cost is between $75 and $100. Caregivers who can afford to do so often pay the $27 per year for the enrollment costs.