PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Dolly Parton's Imagination Library is making a difference for young readers around the world, and a completed international study is putting hard numbers behind the program's impact — including right here in Palm Beach County.
According to the 2025 Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) exams, 40 percent of third graders in Palm Beach County read below grade level. The Imagination Library says the program is helping close that gap.
WATCH BELOW: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library boosts literacy worldwide
WPTV reporter Christy Waite connected with Roxanne Mutchler, a board member with Palm Beach County's Imagination Library, who says an international study shows the impact the program is having globally.
More than 86,000 people in five countries participated in the study.
Some of the key findings that researchers found include:
- Compared to children who are not in the program, reading just 10 books gave children a clear head start in building vocabulary and learning to hear distinct sounds in words
- Children enrolled in the program are nine times more likely to have a book read to them four times a week
- Children in the U.S. program are also 11 times more likely to be interested in books
"(Dolly Parton's) legacy lives on," Mutchler said.
Since being founded in Palm Beach County in 2000, the program has shipped out more than 40,000 books to local children.
Parent Monique Boothe signed her four kids up about a year ago and it has allowed her kids to develop a love of reading starting at an early age.
"We want to get them off social media to build their vocabulary and imagination," Boothe said.
The Imagination Library is now seeing record-breaking enrollment numbers locally, with more than 200 children registered since Parton's death. Mutchler said the surge in interest has strained the program's website.
"We are experiencing a lot of traffic on the website, so if you have any trouble registering, just wait a few minutes and try again," Mutchler said.
Click here to learn more about the international study on the Imagination Library's impact on childhood literacy.
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