THE IMAGINATION LIBRARY
Born from her father’s pain, built for every child’s future
Dolly created the Imagination Library in 1995 to honor her father, a hardworking man who could not read or write.
“If my daddy had been able to read,” she once said, “he would’ve felt a whole lot better about himself.”
So she made a promise — that no child would grow up without books. And she has kept it ever since.
JULY 2025 MILESTONE
280 million books – 3 million children in Florida – and counting…
This month, Dolly’s Imagination Library hit an astonishing milestone: 280 million books delivered to children across the U.S.
In Central Florida alone, over 3 million children in Orange, Lake, Polk, Volusia, and Flagler counties receive a free book every month — from birth to their first day of school.
WHEN MUSIC FALLS SILENT, HER LOVE STILL SPEAKS
After losing her husband Carl Dean, Dolly says she can’t write music anymore. But her love continues to write new chapters — through books, through dreams, through the joy of children discovering stories.
She’s not just a singer. She’s a storyteller raising a nation of dreamers.