Imagination Library Brings 150,000 Books To Tennessee Children

BY TIMOTHY R. CAMA
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Caysen Sykes is only 5, but for four of those years he has received a free book each month, thanks to the Sullivan County Imagination Library.
He may not be able to read those books himself quite yet, but the program still exposes him to the books, even if someone else reads them to him.
Caysen is just one of the 8,500 children throughout the county who have enrolled in the program since its inception in September 2004. The program is part of the larger Imagination Library, a statewide program with the goal of improving literacy among Tennessee children.
“The books are exciting,” Caysen said on Wednesday. “They’re fun.”
Over the years, he has enjoyed books on topics ranging from pirates to trains.
The local program celebrated a milestone Wednesday – as of earlier this month, it had put 150,000 books into the hands of Sullivan County children. Dignitaries including Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey joined the program’s sponsors and 10 of its participants at the 10 a.m. celebration at the Bristol YWCA.
Imagination Library sends a free book each month to enrolled children from birth to age 5. Country music icon Dolly Parton started the program in 1996 to bring literacy to her native Sevier County in East Tennessee, and it has since grown across the state.
“This program may make a bigger difference than anything else we’ve started in the state of Tennessee,” Ramsey said.
Imagination Library creates “an excitement and love for reading,” he added.
The program’s effects are hard to measure, but Scott Emerine, father of two and a board member for the Sullivan County Imagination Library, offered one possible way. His son, Christopher, 5, graduated from the program last fall, and when he enrolled in kindergarten, he was placed in an accelerated reading program.
Emerine’s other son, Seth, 2, is also enrolled.
“This is one of the best pre-kindergarten programs in the state,” Emerine said.
For the children who attended Wednesday’s celebration, the highlight of the morning came when Ramsey read “Llama, Llama Red Pajama,” a selection from the Imagination Reading curriculum. Children sat around Ramsey on the floor, listening intently and reacting to each page as he read aloud.

TIMOTHY CAMA is an intern with the Herald Courier and can be reached at or (276) 645-2568.