Imagination Library

We get free books in the mail! Do you?

When my son was a month or two old, I registered him for the Imagination Library program here in Tennessee. This is a FREE program that mails each participant (child) a picture book once a month (for their first five years of age). How cool is that? Who doesn't like to get something in the mail!? Another great way to get your child excited about reading!

The Imagination Library seems to do a really great job with the books they select to be used. My son has only received a handful of books from the program at this point, but has loved each one. I was actually surprised by how much he enjoyed some of these stories, especially at his young age.

The first book each child receives when they join the program, regardless of their age, is The Little Engine That Could. Isaac doesn't care for this one much yet, but I'm hoping he will enjoy it more as his attention span increases. After that, the book selections seem to be chosen based on developmental appropriateness.  

So far, Isaac's favorites are Kitty Up, Lull-a-Bye Little One, and Wake-Up Sleepy Bear. Not only are these Isaac's favorites from The Imagination Library, they are also some of his favorites from his entire home library. He gets a huge grin on his face when I pull one of these out for us to read. Sometime I recite some of the text from Lull-a-Bye Little One when he's in the bathtub (there's a part about bubbles and a rubber duck), and he gets a real kick out of that! I love that we've read this book enough that he recognizes the words, even without the book in front of him.

The Imagination Library is a free program, like I mentioned early. The aim is to provide all children with books of their own so they can be reading at home. I think that is simply awesome. This program is unbelievable! Obviously, they take donations, and I plan to donate at least the amount it costs to cover the books Isaac receives (somewhere around $20-$30/year). 

I'm not sure how far reaching this program is beyond Tennessee (Dolly Parton started the program here). So if you live here, be sure to check and see if the program is available in your area and sign-up! If you live elsewhere, see if something like this is available. You might be surprised. If it's not, perhaps you can be part of the founding of some kind of program like it!

You can find some of Isaac's favorite Imagination Library books in the Literacy Launchpad Store!