In the Municipal Center
6307 Rt. 9
P.O. Box 451
Chestertown, New York 12817
(518) 494-5384
The Friends of the Town of Chester Public Library has a long history of providing books and programs for children in area communities. Their commitment to early literacy development has taken a number of forms such as the distribution of free books at the annual Rotary holiday event for children and the donation of books to preschoolers as they register for Kindergarten. To further early literacy opportunities in the community, the Friends applied for, and were awarded, a Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation grant to fund registrations for a local Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program. The program provides free picture books mailed monthly to preschool children (ages birth to 5) residing in the Towns of Chester and Horicon who register for the program. Each picture book is a high-quality piece of children’s literature and is the child’s to keep as part of a collection of children’s books in each preschooler’s home.
What is the Dolly Parton Imagination Library?
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free, high-quality books to preschool children. Children registered for the program receive a book each month across the year, mailed to their residence in their name, starting with the children’s classic, The Little Engine That Could. Dolly refers to this book as the “welcome book” to the Imagination Library.
There is no cost or obligation to the child’s family to participate in the Imagination Library. The book is a gift and belongs to the child to build his/her own library. After The Little Engine That Could arrives to newly registered children, the books that follow are selected according to the child’s age group providing developmentally appropriate and interesting books for the child. When a child “graduates” from the program upon turning age 5, he/she is sent the final book, Lookout Kindergarten! Here I Come.
How to Register:
Preschool children, ages birth through five, who reside in the Towns of Chester and Horicon, are eligible to register. For further information, please email trudyreads@chestercreekpress.com or call Trudy at 518-812-4503.
Funding for the Imagination Library is underwritten by the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, “Dedicated to improving the quality of life for year-round residents of the Adirondack Park.”
Updated 2/9/23