Dolly Parton wanted to be remembered as a ‘book lady.’ Inside her Imagination Library.

The world will remember Dolly Parton as many things – a masterful songwriter, a pioneering businesswoman and a mother figure. But I'll remember her as a champion of books. 

In 2019, Parton, who died Aug. 25 at 80 after privately battling cancer, told the "Today" show's Jenna Bush Hager she'd prefer the accolade "book lady" over "Queen of Country Music." In a statement, the family asked for donations to her Imagination Library in lieu of flowers.

"That's a very warm, loving, emotional thing for me to think that I'm the book lady and that I've done something for the little kids because, being from a big family, I have a special love for children," Parton told USA TODAY last year at Dollywood. "They’re the future. They're the ones that's going to be going on after us, and so I think if you can give them a head start, a little chance of any kind in their early years and their most impressionable years, that's a good thing."

Parton was an avid reader, reading “at least 50 books a year,” she told Bush Hager. Among her favorite books were “Water for Elephants” by Sara Gruen and “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas. She was a fan of Southern writers, especially Lee Smith. 

But Parton wasn’t content to enjoy books from the sidelines. Imagination Library was one of her proudest philanthropic ventures, realizing Parton’s dream that “all children should grow up in a home full of books.” One in six U.S. children under the age of five receives free books from this fund, according to the site. 

Dolly Parton helped kids read with Imagination Library

Nothing crystallizes Parton’s love of literature more than her Imagination Library, which gifts free books to children from birth to age 5. Participating families receive one book a month per registered child at no cost. Local businesses, school districts, organizations and individuals help promote the program and enroll eligible children.

Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 as an ode to her father, who was unable to read. Before he died, he told Parton it was “probably the most important thing (she) had ever done.” 

“He was the smartest man I have ever known but I know in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from fulfilling all of his dreams,” she wrote in a letter to fans. “Inspiring kids to love to read became my mission.”

Initially, the fund distributed books to children in Sevier County, Tennessee, where she grew up. It quickly expanded internationally. By 2003, Imagination Library had sent its millionth book. At the time of her death, more than 332,000,000 books had been gifted, according to its website.

“The Little Engine That Could,” a childhood favorite of Parton’s, was the first book in the Imagination Library. 

“I often tell people there’s a lot of wisdom in this little book, and I always say that I am a little engine that did,” Parton told Marie Claire in 2020. 

Dolly Parton was an author many times over

Parton penned many bestselling books, including a series of children’s books featuring her “god dog” Billy the Kid. In 2009, she wrote “I Am a Rainbow,” a book to help children connect with their emotions. 

From coffee table hardcovers to memoirs, Parton’s books often gifted fans a peek behind her perfectly coiffed hairdo. A 1995 autobiography, “Dolly: My Life and Other Unfinished Business,” tracked her early days growing up in the Great Smoky Mountains. She shared Parton family recipes and favorite foods in “Good Lookin’ Cookin’,” a cookbook written with her sister Rachel Parton George.

In “Behind the Seams,” Parton got candid about her signature style. “Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics" annotated her most beloved songs. And she rounded out her photographic trilogy with “Star of the Show,” highlighting her best performances.

But most surprising was her 2022 debut novel with bestselling author James Patterson, “Run, Rose, Run.” Published with an accompanying album, the thriller follows a young singer-songwriter on the run who catches the eye of a retired country music matriarch. Parton narrated the audiobook alongside country singer Kelsea Ballerini and teamed with Spotify for a "bookcast," a podcast that blends excerpts with music.

"I always thought I'd write a novel, or a mystery, at some point in my life, because I do love to tell stories," Parton told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, in 2022. "I thought, 'This would be a wonderful opportunity to do that.' I wouldn't have to do it but once – not to say that I won't – but this is something else that I can add to the wonderful things I've been involved in (during) my life."

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected]. 

Contributing: Matthew Leimkuehler