MFM Minisode 506 - The Dolly Parton Tribute Minisode

Karen Kilgariff (0:06)

My Favorite Murder Hello!

Georgia Hardstark (0:17)

And welcome to My Favorite Murder.

Karen Kilgariff (0:20)

The Minia-Sode.

Georgia Hardstark (0:21)

Y'all.

Karen Kilgariff (0:22)

Hey, y'all. Hey, y'all. This is a very special mini-sode today. This is the Dolly Parton Tribute mini-sode.

Georgia Hardstark (0:27)

That's right. And we got so many e-mails from you guys. It turns out everyone has a Dolly Parton memory or thought or feeling and...

Karen Kilgariff (0:34)

Completely.

Georgia Hardstark (0:35)

They were so good.

Karen Kilgariff (0:36)

They were. I mean, there's so many to choose from. It was like we could do about 18 of these.

Georgia Hardstark (0:40)

Totally.

Karen Kilgariff (0:41)

And thank you. A listener suggested this. I think multiple listeners suggested it.

Georgia Hardstark (0:46)

What a great idea, listener.

Karen Kilgariff (0:47)

Yeah. We're doing it. We did your thing.

Georgia Hardstark (0:49)

We do what the people tell us to do. We always do. Once every decade.

Karen Kilgariff (0:54)

Want me to go first?

Georgia Hardstark (0:55)

Yes.

Karen Kilgariff (0:55)

Okay. So the subject line of this is, another reason why Dolly Parton is a goddess. Hello from the UK.

I love Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. And I'm happy to talk about the difference it has made to the children in the UK.

Georgia Hardstark (1:11)

Oh my God.

Karen Kilgariff (1:11)

Have you ever even thought of this?

I work for an early years education charity in the UK. And we were put in touch with the UK branch of the Imagination Library. The Imagination Library has over 300 community partners in the UK with over 7 million books shared here since 2007

Georgia Hardstark (1:28)

Oh my God.

Karen Kilgariff (1:29)

Anyway, I think you probably don't want a bunch of facts and figures. Why not?

Georgia Hardstark (1:33)

We love numbers. That's what this podcast is all about.

Karen Kilgariff (1:36)

Let's go ahead and look at the chart.

Because you can just look that up. So I will focus on the key things that I believe make the Imagination Library different from other language and literacy support programs out there. Firstly, and most importantly, the program must be set up by a community partner. This is usually the local council or a local charity, etc. The community partner signs up to the program and pays a small fee per child in their catchment area. And then this is much better than the facts and figures. Explain us how civics work.

Georgia Hardstark (2:09)

Us people with no children need to know.

Karen Kilgariff (2:11)

Please, who's the partner in this?

But basically they're saying, the rest is covered by the Imagination Library. That means that every child in the area is enrolled in the program and they all get the books. This is really important. It isn't a program for quote unquote poor kids or for rich kids or for kids with additional needs or any one specific type of family. It is for everyone. There is no stigma associated with getting these books. Everyone gets them.

Georgia Hardstark (2:39)

That's what an idea. That's it.

Karen Kilgariff (2:42)

That's it, true equity.

Some preschools and community groups even use the books as part of their curriculum of activities because they know that every family has them. Because as Dolly says, I just want everybody to be treated good.

Georgia Hardstark (2:56)

Oh, yeah. How many? Oh, I forgot to. How many times is Karen going to cry?

Karen Kilgariff (2:59)

Well, I mean, listen.

Georgia Hardstark (3:00)

It has to be once per story at least.

Karen Kilgariff (3:02)

I'm six. I'm already unstable. Okay.

This is a great thing to cry over.

Georgia Hardstark (3:07)

That's true.

Karen Kilgariff (3:07)

Because somebody said this on social media, and wait, I may have already said this on the show. But the thing of this is a person who broke records in the music industry, and all anyone's talking about is this shit she did. How wonderful she was. It's just crazy to think about.

Georgia Hardstark (3:23)

Aspirational.

Karen Kilgariff (3:24)

Yeah.

So then it says, Then something that people don't often think of, this program helps kids, sure, but it also stimulates language and literacy skills across whole families. The average reading age in the UK is around the level of a 10-year-old. So it shouldn't be forgotten that this program can be great to build confidence in reading for adults too. And it was her father's illiteracy that led Dolly to set up the Imagination Library. Families who are sent the books report reading more at home, going to the library more often, and just generally reading more books with their children. Did you know kids who read one book a day will hear about 290,000 more words by age 5 than those who are not regularly read to?