Dolly and Me

By C.J. Hirschfield

I’ve always been a big fan of Dolly Parton’s singing, songwriting, acting and no-apologies, over-the-top style. I never thought we had much in common, though -- until now.

Dolly Parton wearing fairy wings!

You see, Dolly and I are in a special club of women – maybe it’s just the two of us – who run theme parks that champion early childhood literacy: Dollywood and Children’s Fairyland. So in addition to ensuring the ongoing safety of rides, and managing food service and gift shops, we are all about kids and books.

Last week, the country music legend visited the Library of Congress to celebrate the delivery of the 100 millionth free book, distributed through her Imagination Library, to infants through preschoolers.

Founded more than 20 years ago as a small program in her native Sevier County in Tennessee, the Imagination Library was inspired by Parton’s father, who couldn’t read or write. Now the program reaches all 50 states and the District of Columbia, as well as Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

At the D.C. ceremony, Parton donated a copy of her Coat of Many Colors book to the Library of Congress’s permanent collection.

Here in Alameda County, two local partners have teamed up to sponsor the Imagination Library: the Housing Authority of the County of Alameda and the Berkeley Baby Book Project. Partners pay about $25 per child per year, which covers the cost of the books and shipping. Early childhood experts choose books that are developmentally appropriate for each year of a child’s life, and diversity is well represented. Books come with suggestions for parents on how to engage with the words beyond the page through questions and activities.

Here at Fairyland, we’ve significantly expanded our book-related programs over the past few years, with a great deal of help from two local public children’s librarians, Margaret Rodriguez and Angela Moffett. They have helped us dramatically transform our reading room, where families can pop in whenever they like to enjoy a brilliantly curated collection of books that reflect our community’s diversity.

Every Friday, we present two Toddler Storytimes, at 10:30 and 3. They’re led by trained volunteers who get families singing, dancing and enjoying a good book. We hope parents try some of our fun techniques at home.

And on May 19, we’ll host our third “Turn the Page!” children’s book festival. In addition to welcoming more than 30 local children’s book authors and illustrators, we’ll host a book-making activity for kids, an Oakland Library book bicycle, library-card sign-ups, and a book sale coordinated by Oakland’s Laurel Books. Grant money will enable us to welcome families who otherwise could not afford a visit and give a free book of their choice to each of these kids.

Authors Robert Liu-Trujillo and Laurin Mayeno at Fairyland's 2017 Turn the Page! book festival.

Admittedly, the theme parks that Dolly Parton and I run are very different. She has Daredevil Falls, Demolition Derby and Dizzy Disk. I have the Wonder-Go-Round, the Flecto Carousel and the Jolly Trolly. She has resort lodging, an adjacent water park and dinner theater. I have Willie the Whale, Jack and Jill Hill and Magic Keys that unlock tales from storybook boxes. Her park is in the Great Smoky Mountains; we’re in the heart of downtown Oakland. Adult admission to Dollywood is $69; it’s $10 for everyone, age 1 to 100, at Fairyland.

But in fact we have more in common than just the Dippin’ Dots, cotton candy and pizza we both serve.

We both know that brain development in the first few years of life is rapid, and that reading aloud to children not only promotes literacy and a love of reading, but also has lasting cognitive and educational benefits.

Last week, Dolly Parton expressed her new goal: a billion books distributed by the Imagination Library. Reaching that goal will take determination as well as imagination, but that’s what my bestie Dolly and I are all about.

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C.J. Hirschfield has served for 15 years as executive director of Children's Fairyland, where she is charged with the overall operation of the nation's first storybook theme park.