Consider This from NPR - Dolly Parton's New Kid's Book Is A Story Of Perseverance and Standing Up To Bullies

Episode Date: May 10, 2023

In addition to being one of country music's biggest icons, Dolly Parton is also a prolific philanthropist. One of the most important causes she's dedicated herself to is child literacy, which she does through both the work of her non-profit organization the Imagination Library, as well as by being a writer of children's books.Parton newest book Billy the Kid Makes It Big! and she spoke with NPR's Melissa Block about writing for children, standing up to bullies, and why her program to deliver books to children meant so much to her dad. In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment to help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Support for NPR comes from NPR member stations and Eric and Wendy Schmidt through the Schmidt Family Foundation. Working toward a healthy, resilient, secure world for all. On the web at theschmidt.org. Singer, songwriter, actress, businesswoman, author, Dolly Parton wears many hats. Or in her case, maybe we should say many wigs. Are there other ones? Or is this the one? No, I have at least 365, one for each day. One for every day. Oh, yeah!

But among a lifetime of artistic ventures, she's also a prolific philanthropist, work that was inspired by her humble origins. She was the fourth of 12 children born to a poor family in East Tennessee. Here she is accepting the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy last year. And I just give from my heart. I never know what I'm going to do or why I'm going to do it. I just see a need. And if I can feel it, then I will. Among Parton's most important charitable

works is the Imagination Library, which she founded in 1995 in the East Tennessee County where she grew up. Her goal? To send children from birth to age five one specially selected book each month in hopes of inspiring a love of reading. But you can never get enough books in the hands of enough children, right? Because if you can read, you can self-educate yourself if you have to. Sally Parton dedicated the program to her father, who grew up in poverty and never learned to read. You can self-educate yourself if you have to. Sally Parton dedicated the program to her father, who grew up in poverty and never learned to read. He was the smartest man I've ever known, but I knew in my heart his inability to read probably kept him from seeing all his dreams come true. Since its founding, Parton's Imagination Library has expanded beyond the borders of

Tennessee, providing books to children nationwide and in several countries around the world. Today, the organization is mailing 2 million books to children each month and has gifted over 204 million books. When the pandemic hit in 2020, the library started Good Night with Dolly on their YouTube channel. Hello, I'm Dolly Parton, the book lady from the Imagination Library. With videos of Parton herself reading bedtime stories to kids. Okay, this one's called Max and the Tagalong Moon by Floyd Cooper. One night, as Max was leaving Grandpa's house, he reached up to give Grandpa a big hug goodbye. In the sky behind Grandpa appeared a big, fine moon. Look, Grandpa, the moon.

Consider this. The daughter of an illiterate man is making sure millions of children are put on the path to a life of reading. If you can teach children to read, that teaches them to dream. And if you can dream, you can be successful. And if you're successful, then you've got a good life ahead of you. So hopefully this all... After the break, we hear from the legend herself about her new children's book. can be successful. And if you're successful, then you've got a good life ahead of you. After the break, we hear from the legend herself about her new children's book.

From NPR, I'm Melissa Block. It's Wednesday, May 10th. This message comes from WISE, the app for doing things in other currencies. Send, spend, or receive money internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the WISE app today or visit wise.com. T's and C's apply. Support for NPR and the following message come from Carnegie Corporation of New York, working to reduce political polarization through philanthropic support for education, democracy, and peace. More information at carnegie.org. It's Consider This from NPR. Dolly Parton's got something for everyone, whether you're old,

young, or just a kid. Through her years of spreading the love of reading to children, Dolly Parton has written several children's books of her own. Most recently, she came out with a new story of one dog's rough beginnings in the music business, Billy the Kid Makes It Big. When I spoke with Parton, she told me about her real-life, quote, god dog that inspired Billy in her new book. Well, Billy belongs to my manager, Danny Nozell, and when Danny first brought him to the studio, I just fell in love with him.

He's a tiny little thing. And I said, I have to be his extra mama or he has to be my god dog. So I just claimed him and he just took to me right away. So we've just been little partners ever since. And I have all these wonderful little stories I even tell about Billy to my little nieces and nephews. You wouldn't believe what Billy did today. Billy did this, Billy did that. And so we got the idea that maybe I should write books with Billy from his viewpoint. So it has the music in it. It's about confidence and about standing up to bullies and that sort of thing. So it's really

got a lot of meaningful things, I think, for children. What kind of dog is Billy in real life? Billy is a French bulldog. A French bulldog. And there's a picture of you with him. He's pretty cute. He's got those ears that stand straight up. In the book, he's wearing a red and white bow tie, looking very stylish. Well, he likes to dress up, especially when he's auditioned for a show like he does in the book. He's got his little guitar, which I kind of based loosely on my first little guitar, which was a little Baby Martin guitar. And then, of course, he's got to dress up and be ready for country music because it's a story about him coming to Nashville, trying to make it in the business and being discouraged, feeling sad and meeting some

friends that gave him confidence. And they were all kind of in it together, all there for the same reasons and just keeping on with their dreams. And they wound up winning the contest. You know, that idea of standing up to bullies or, you know, overcoming people who mock you or make fun of you, I'm thinking it's a theme that runs through a whole bunch of your music. And I was listening to the first song that you recorded way back in 1959. You were 13 years old. And it's a song you wrote. It's called, and it's appropriate for this conversation, it's called Puppy Love. Let's hear a little bit of it. Puppy love, puppy love, puppy love.

They all call it puppy love. I'm old enough now to kiss and hug. And I like it. It's puppy love. You still remember it? Oh, of course. I sing it on stage. Sometimes you won't even carry my book. Sometimes you see me wrangle up. And for me, Puppy Love, you're singing, apart from the puppy love part, you're singing

about a mean boy who pulls your pigtails and he won't carry your books and he rags on your looks. And I wonder if you remember feeling that way as a kid, as that 13-year-old Dolly Parton. Yeah, well, actually, I remember even years before that, I got really bullied. And I have a song and a book called The Coat of Many Colors. Made only from rags But I wore it so proudly She made that coat. She told me that story about Joseph in the Bible. And boy, I thought I just really looked just like Joseph. And I was so proud of it.

And wore it to school, and the kids all laughed and said it was just rags, and I didn't look like Joseph, and that we was poor and all that. Of course, they were poor too, but I guess we were poorer. But anyway, I remember crying so hard and hurt and was even hurt at mama because I felt like she'd kind of deceived me somehow. But kids always remember things like that, your first deep hurt. When you were growing up in the Smoky Mountains of East Tennessee, do you remember having books at home?

Was reading, was writing part of your childhood? No, we didn't have books at home because we had too many kids. If they got chewed up or peed on or whatever kids do in a house like ours, we had one kid after another. Daddy couldn't afford to pay for that. so they'd just tell us, don't bring books home. And we didn't. So I read at school. We had the Bible. Mama read that all the time. So that was my first encounters. Of course, I remember the first little book that we have in our imagination library is called The Little Engine That Could.

And that little book was amazing to me because it talked about the same thing, confidence. I think I can. I think, confidence. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can. I did. The program you started that has sent books to, I think, more than 2 million kids at this point. Yeah, the Imagination Library is called. It started about 26 years ago, I think.

And my dad helped me with that. But where we give books to children, all children, you don't have to be poor or whatever. It's for anybody that wants to sign up. They can get a book once a month until they start school. What was the root of that for you? I think it spins off of an experience with your dad. Your dad was not able to read or write, I think. My dad was country, and the schools were far away. They lived back in the mountains. They had to work in the fields. They had to work at home. They had to do the stuff to help feed the family and keep that together. And my dad didn't get a chance to read or write. And that bothered him. And that bothered me that it

bothered him. So I got this idea to start the program where we give books to children. And so it just grew so fast. What did he tell you about that program? What give books to children. And so it just grew so fast. What did he tell you about that program? What it meant to him? He just told me he was very proud of me and that he felt like I was doing something special. And I'm sorry. I got a little emotional. But anyway, I was proud that he got to be part of something great, and he could feel better about himself. Yeah. Do you want to take a minute? I think I'm okay. Just get on something else. Yeah, yeah. Are you still, as a songwriter,

still finding stories inside yourself that you need to tell after all these years? If I do, they come out when they're ready, and I'll go after it. But there's nothing I know that I want to write about. But when they show up, I'll go ahead and do it. There's nothing I'm afraid or I don't have any, I'm not holding any secrets about something I hesitate to write. How do songs show up for you? Sometimes I get woke up in the middle of the night because I often dream about singing songs. And I used to think I'd remember where I'll be singing in a dream. And I know it's not a song I know. And so I just try to keep a little tape recorder or a notepad. But even on planes, I just ride on a barf bag. If I get an idea for a song, I just dig in my purse, try to find a pencil, and write on anything I can.

That's how all writers do it, though. Somebody that really writes all the time, like I do. You ever write with a lipstick? I've written with my lipstick, and I've written with my eyebrow pencil a lot. Probably a little easier with an eyebrow pencil, I would think. It's a little better. It's a little easier. Well, Dolly Parton, it has been a treat to talk with you today. Thank you so much.

Oh, thank you. I appreciate you. Dolly Parton's new children's book is Billy the Kid Makes It Big. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Melissa Block. Support for NPR and the following message come from the Kauffman Foundation, providing access to opportunities that help people achieve financial stability, upward mobility, and economic prosperity, regardless of race, gender, or geography.

Kauffman.org.