Dolly Parton Awarded Title of ‘Kentucky Colonel’ After Expanding Her Children’s Literacy Program Into the State

Country music legend Dolly Parton has been awarded the honorary title of “Kentucky Colonel” in recognition of her efforts to improve children’s literacy in the Bluegrass State.
On Aug. 27, Parton, 78, visited the historic Lyric Theatre in downtown Lexington, where Gov. Andy Beshear bestowed her with the highest title of honor given by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The award celebrated the statewide launch of her book gifting program, Imagination Library, which mails out free, age-appropriate books each month to children who are registered with the program up until they start kindergarten.
“It warms my heart to know that every child from birth to age 5 across the state can register to receive the gift of a monthly Imagination Library book,” she said. “Together, we’re inspiring a love of reading that will last a lifetime.”
Governor Beshear shared a similar sentiment, noting that he and his wife “have seen first-hand how important early childhood education is.”
“Ensuring Missouri’s children have a quality education is near and dear to us, and we know the earlier we can get children excited about reading and learning the better equipped they are to find success and achieve their American Dream down the road,” they said in the statement. “We appreciate Dolly, her team, and [The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education] for helping bring these quality educational resources to Missouri children.”
During the event, which was livestreamed locally on PBS, Parton shared that she was inspired to create Imagination Library after witnessing the difficulties that her father—Robert Lee Parton, who died in 2000 at the age of 79—had with literacy.
However, despite not being able to read or write, her father “was one of the smartest people” she had ever known, she said. “I loved, respected, and admired my daddy.”
“Knowing that my dad was a little bit embarrassed by the fact that he couldn’t read and write as a grown-up—and he thought that it was something he couldn’t learn to do after he was grown—I got the idea to start a program … and I said, ‘Daddy, I got a program in mind and I’d like for you to help me with it,’” the singer recalled.
Parton said the program quickly took off from there. “Me and Daddy were just working away doing all that we did. … And the kids started calling me the ‘book lady,’ and Daddy was more proud of that than he was that I was a star. But Daddy got to feeling like he had really done something great as well,” she recounted.
“So my daddy got to live long enough to see the imagination library take off and do well and now we’re all over the world.”