Cooke County has a listed affiliate of Dolly Parton's Imagination Library
Readers To Leaders Foundation is named as Cooke County's affiliate of the free children's book program, while United Way and library partners in Grayson County and southern Oklahoma describe monthly mailings to children under 5.
Dolly Parton's Imagination Library lists Readers To Leaders Foundation as its Cooke County affiliate, according to the program's official directory. The same entry names RTL Mobile Library as the county's local champion.
The affiliate describes mobile-library service in Cooke and Grayson counties. Readers To Leaders Foundation says its book-gifting work began in 2024 and that it became an official nonprofit in 2025.
The monthly-book terms appear in the sources for nearby programs. In Grayson County, children younger than 5 can enroll through United Way of Grayson County and receive a free book each month. The agency says family income does not affect eligibility.
Across the Red River, families sign up through United Way of South Central Oklahoma, which the Imagination Library directory lists as partnered with the Southern Oklahoma Library System. The agency says each enrolled child receives one age-appropriate book a month, at no charge to the family, until the child's fifth birthday. The first book arrives six to eight weeks after enrollment, the agency says.
In Durant, Okla., a May 2024 city department report said the local program had served more than 1,600 children since June 2022, counting both those still enrolled and those who had aged out.
Served by Durant's Imagination Library program since June 2022
Includes both children still enrolled and those who had aged out, as of May 2024. Counts children, not households.
Families pay nothing, but the books carry a cost. The Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness, which manages the program statewide, lists book and postage costs at $2.60 per child each month. The state partnership covers half and local program partners cover the other half. The Oklahoma State Department of Education contracted with the partnership to run the program in 2025, according to the department.
Book and mailing cost per child, per month, in Oklahoma
Split equally between the state partnership and local program partners; families pay nothing.
Parton started the program in 1995 in Sevier County, Tennessee, according to its official history. National replication began in 2000, and the program marked its 30th anniversary in 2025. The history reports that about 14 percent of U.S. children younger than 5 received its books monthly in 2024.
Funding arrangements differ by state. Missouri's education department says state budget cuts beginning July 1, 2026, make December 2026 the final state-funded book delivery. The Dollywood Foundation is seeking new local partners so Missouri communities can keep participating.
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