09/05/2026
💔 THE WOMAN WHO TAUGHT THE WORLD HOW TO SAY “I LOVE YOU.”
Dolly Parton never had children of her own.
And somehow, millions of children grew up knowing her love.
She tucked it inside brightly colored envelopes. She sent it across mountains, oceans and county lines. She placed it into the hands of children she would never meet and gave them something no amount of rhinestones, fame or fortune could ever outshine:
A book of their very own.
Dolly created the Imagination Library in honor of her daddy—a hardworking, intelligent man who never had the opportunity to learn to read or write. She believed that inability kept him from fulfilling some of his dreams.
So she spent the rest of her life helping make sure it didn’t keep other children from fulfilling theirs.
Before he passed away, her daddy told her the Imagination Library was probably the most important thing she had ever done.
Imagine what that must have meant to the little girl from the Smoky Mountains who had gone on to make the whole world sing.
Dolly gave us songs for falling in love, walking away, holding on and finding our way home. She made us laugh. She made us feel seen. She could walk into a room covered in sequins and somehow leave everyone else shining a little brighter.
She never asked us who we voted for, how much money we made, where we worshiped or whether we believed we belonged.
She just loved us.
You could hear it when she sang.
You could see it when she smiled.
You could feel it every time she spoke.
And now, when one of these books finds its way into another child’s lap, Dolly is still here—still opening little minds, still planting big dreams and still reminding every child that their story matters.
Booth #411 has a beautiful collection of books from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, including her beloved Coat of Many Colors.
Take one home. Read it to someone you love.
Because perhaps the truest thing Dolly ever taught us is written right there on one of these covers:
This is how we say, “I love you.” 💔📚🦋
And I will always love you, Dolly 🫶🏻 8.25.26
📍 Irondale Pickers, Alabama’s Largest Antique Mall
👉🏻 Booth #411