Refugee children in London will be given a book each month until they turn five, thanks to a new project from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
The global organisation is partnering with publisher Penguin Random House and charity Give a Book to offer books to 200 refugee children in the capital.
Among the books chosen are old and new favourites such as Where is the Very Hungry Caterpillar? by Eric Carle, King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently and Billy and the Dragon by Nadia Shireen, who said she was “honoured” to have had her book chosen.
“Children’s books are magical portals that can comfort, console and delight,” she added. “For families who have been through unimaginable upheaval, receiving a book to share may be a small thing, but it will hopefully also be a loving, warm and familiar thing.”
Francesca Dow, managing director of children’s books at Penguin Random House, noted how “books are vital to building understanding, and creating a sense of belonging” that can be “crucial” for those moving to a new place. “What is especially exciting about these donations is that the children will be receiving new books every month,” she added. They will therefore “be able to build up their own personal collection of books to keep and to have, as they grow”.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which was launched in 1995 and is the flagship programme of the Dollywood Foundation, gives a book a month to participating children until they turn five, at no cost to the child’s family. In 2021, more than 618,000 books were given to children across the UK and Ireland through the charity’s partnership with Penguin Random House.
Marion Gillooly, executive director of the Dollywood Foundation UK, said: “Delivering books to these children every month will give them the opportunity to experience the joy of reading with their families. We hope that this will support family relationships and inspire a love of reading that will last a lifetime.”
