S2 Ep.16 Reaching for the stars with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library

I'm thrilled to release this episode on Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, "a free book gifting program devoted to inspiring a love of reading in the hearts of children everywhere. Each month, enrolled children receive a high quality, age appropriate book in the mail, free of charge. Children receive books from birth to age five."

Join me as I interview three guests on the topic: Jeanne Smitiuch, Regional Director for the Dollywood Foundation of Canada; Chaya Kulkarni, BAA, M.Ed. Ed D, Director of Infant Mental Health Promotion (IMHP) at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and Angela M. Neglia, Speech-Language pathologist for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board and in private practice.

Since launching in 1995, Dolly Parton's Imagination Library has mailed over 48 million books worldwide and 1.5 million in Canada alone.

Here are some of my guests' favorite resources:

• Chaya talks about the Llama Llama books series. They can be found on the Penguin Random House Canada Website.

• Angela talks about Maya's Book Nook: "It is our goal to share books where young children of color can see themselves, and the stories they relate to, represented within the pages. Book reviews and resources will incorporate language-focused strategies that may be used by parents, educators, and speech-language pathologists. A strong language foundation is one of the pillars to future academic success. We’d like to support you in building that foundation, one book at a time.", by Lakeisha Johnson, PhD, CCC-SLP 
• Jeanne talks about:
  • the Jim Trelease Read aloud handbook website where you can find great resources about the importance of reading to young children
  • the Enchanted Hour book "A Wall Street Journal writer’s conversation-changing look at how reading aloud makes adults and children smarter, happier, healthier, more successful and more closely attached, even as technology pulls in the other direction."
  • The Canadian Children's Literacy Foundation, an organization that strives "to enable Canada’s children to become the most literate in the world. We promote and develop literacy initiatives, champion literacy partners across Canada, and empower people to build literacy skills in their homes and communities."

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Parlé Podcast · S2 Ep.16 Reaching for the stars with Dolly Parton's Imagination Library