• Home
  • Stories
    • News >
      • 2025 Municipal Elections
    • Fundy Albert Newsletter
    • Learning & Literacy
    • Ghost Stories
    • Food, Farming & Fishing >
      • Recipe Collection
    • Culture & Heritage
    • Health & Wellness
    • Environment
    • Opinions, letters and reflections
  • About Us
    • Donate
  • Jobs
    • Job Posting Submission Form
    • Job Postings
  • E-magazine
  • Calendar
  • Albert County
    • Community Directory
    • Churches
    • Living in Albert County
    • Our Villages
    • Attractions
  • Ads
  • Trails
Connecting Albert County

Learning & Literacy

The Imagination Library: Bringing Books to Rural Albert County

22/1/2018

0 Comments

 
PictureRobin Stuart reads to Owen (3 years) and Liam (4 months); both boys receive books from the Imagination Library. Owen is actively engaged in the story Where’s My Nose? and is pointing at his own nose.
By Janet Wallace and originally published in  March 2016
“I like books!” says Owen, piling his favourite books on his bed. The three--year-old eagerly shows me his library.

​
His mother, Robin Stuart, fills in the back story. Owen is enrolled in the Imagination Library. From birth until their fifth birthdays, children receive a book in the mail each month.

“A friend of mine told me about the Imagination Library,” says Robin. “She told me you can get a free book each month. It sounded amazing. And it is!”

Picture
The inspiration and force behind the program is Country-and-Western singer Dolly Parton. She wants to help children “fall in love with books at an early age,” according to her website. The long-term goal is greater literacy.

The Imagination Library costs $60 per child per year but the families don’t foot the bill. Thanks to the Bennett and Albert County Health Care (BACH) Foundation, families in rural Albert County of all income levels have been able to use the free program since 2010.


By the time the children turn five years old and receive their last book, they will have received nearly fifty books from the Imagination Library.

“I loved books as a child,” says Robin Stuart, “and I want my kids to have the chance to have their own books. As they get older, we’ll probably pass on some of the books to their younger cousins, but I hope they will keep their favourite books and eventually even read those to their own children.”
“The fact that the books come in the mail addressed to Owen,” continues his mother, “makes it exciting for him.”

Owen’s four-month old brother, Liam, is also enrolled in the program. Each child receives books appropriate to their age, starting with heavy-duty ‘board books’ and ending with Look OutKindergarten, Here I Come! Some contain tips for parents about how to use the book with their children including questions to ask while reading the book and afterwards.

Robin reads to both boys. While the baby is lulled by the sound of her reading, Owen is actively engaged and points out words he has learned. The books are kept on a low shelf in his room so he can look at the books whenever he wants. Sometimes, says Robin, he ‘reads’ to himself – flipping through the pages and recounting the story or making up a new one.

Another mother, Jenn Shelby, shares a similar story. Jenn learned about the program when she went for an appointment at the Albert County Health and Wellness Centre. Now, her four-year-old daughter is the proud owner of a great collection of books.

A writer and avid reader herself, Jenn admits that her daughter would have books even if she wasn’t enrolled in the program. But she appreciates the diversity of books – a greater range of books than if she had bought them herself.

The program is particularly welcome in rural Albert County where there is just one library (Hillsborough), no bookmobile and limited access to bookstores, in addition to low literacy rates. There are 101 children currently enrolled in the program in school catchment areas for Riverside Consolidated and Hillsborough Elementary.

“The Imagination Library is particularly important now with so much of a focus on electronics,” says Dawn Parke, Coordinator for Imagination Library Anglophone East School District. “This program gives a child a real book to hold when they sit in the lap of their parent, grandparent, older brother or sister of whoever they love and cherish. That bond enhances the love of reading.”

“Many studies have shown that children exposed to books early in life have greater literacy skills,” she adds.
Beyond helping children to learn to read, the program may help build a healthier community.  According to Public Health Agency of Canada (2013), effective childhood learning is a key contributor to health. Lower levels of education are linked with poor health, more stress, and lower self-confidence.

To learn more about the program or to sign up, you can pick up registration packages at the schools in Riverside-Albert and Hillsborough, the Hillsborough Library and the Albert County Health and Wellness Centre. If you have questions, feel free to call Dawn Parke, Coordinator for Imagination Library Anglophone East School District, at 874-3812 or email [email protected]

Article and photos by Janet Wallace, www.JanetWallace.ca 2016


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Learning & Literacy

    Articles about learning opportunities for people of all ages with a special focus on early childhood education.
    ​

    Thanks to our Advertisers! 
    ​

    ​Connecting Albert County would like to thank the following supporters & advertisers:

    Platinum 
    - Bennett and Albert County Health Care (BACH) Foundation  
    ​- Horizon Health Network Resiliency Committee
    ​​- Hon. Rob Moore, MP for Fundy Royal
    ​- Village of Fundy Albert


    Gold
    - CBDC Westmorland Albert 

    Silver 
    - Albert County Funeral Home 
     - Friends of Fundy

    Bronze supporters
    - ​Albert County Pharmacy
    - Crooked Creek Convenience 
    - Jeff MacDougall, SouthEastern Mutual Insurance
    - McCarthy Construction 
    - NBSCF


    If you would like to support Connecting Albert County, visit our Advertising page or Donation page. With your support, we can continue to share the news of rural Albert County.

    Comments
    We welcome comments to our blog postings. Please provide your email address and name with your comment, and respect our content guidelines.​

    Archives

    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    September 2024
    July 2024
    April 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    September 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    May 2019
    February 2018
    January 2018

    Categories

    All
    Activity
    Adults
    Advertising
    Albert County
    Albert County Career Development Center
    Albert County Historical Society
    Albert County Museum
    Anglophone East School District
    Assistance
    Author
    Babies In The Library
    BACH Foundation
    Back To School
    Bennett & Albert Health Care Foundation
    Book
    Books
    Books By Mail
    Book Signing
    Business
    Buzzwords
    Caledonia Activity Place
    CBDC
    CCRC
    CEDC
    Children
    Chillers From Albert County
    Chipoudy Communities Revitalization Committee
    Christmas
    Clean-up
    Collaboration
    Communications Begins At Birth
    Community
    Computer Classes
    Congratulations
    Connecting Albert County
    Contest
    Curbside Pick Up
    Customer
    Customers
    Cyber
    Cyber PR Army
    Daycare
    Dolly Parton Imagination Library
    Donation
    Donations
    Early Childhood Development
    East Coast Kids
    Employers
    Employment
    Event
    Every Child Ready To Read
    Favourite Vegetable
    Find The Differences
    Forest Dale
    Free Download
    Funding
    Fundraiser
    Fundraising
    Fundy Albert
    Fundy National Park
    Grass Roots
    Grass Roots Community Economic Development Co-operative
    Gratitude
    Hillsborough
    Hillsborough Elementary
    Hillsborough Fire Hall
    Hillsborough Kiwanis
    Hillsborough Library
    Hillsborough Public Library
    Hillsborough Women's Institute
    Hiring
    Holiday Season
    Imagination Library
    Income Tax
    Income Taxes
    Janet Coulter Sanford
    Jennifer Shelby
    Job
    Job Searching
    Kindergarten!
    Kiwanis
    Lead Magnet
    Learning Centre
    Libraries
    Library
    Literacy
    Literacy Express
    Literacy Funding
    Live Stream
    Logistics
    March Break
    Marketing
    Marketing Tool
    Memories On The Bounty
    Moncton Regional Learning Council
    NB
    NB Children's Foundation
    New Brunswick
    New Brunswick Library System
    Newcomers
    New Horizons For Seniors Program
    Next Step
    Parent Child Mother Goose Program
    Parent-Child Mother Goose Program
    Plan
    Playground
    Playground Committee
    Playground Project
    Poetry
    Profile
    Project
    Puzzle
    Read
    Reading
    Reading Club
    Reading Is Fantastic
    Read To Me
    Refresh
    Registration
    Riverside Albert
    Riverside-Albert
    Riverside Consolidated School
    Sales
    Santa Claus
    Scholarship
    School
    School Bus
    School Readiness
    Self-Employment
    Self-Employment Benefit Program
    Series
    Social Media
    Social Proof
    Story
    Students
    Summer
    Summer Camps
    Summer Reading
    Summer Reading Club
    Summer Reading Program
    Talk To Me
    Talk With Me Program
    Tele-Drive Albert County
    Testimonials
    Trail
    Train School
    Unemployed
    Village Of Riverside-Albert
    Waterside
    Website
    Winner
    Word Search
    Work
    Workforce
    Writer
    Writing
    Young People
    Youth

    RSS Feed

CONTACT
ADVERTISING
CALENDAR
PUBLICATION

SiteLock
Copyright © Connecting Albert County, 2025 | Albert County, New Brunswick, Canada
  • Home
  • Stories
    • News >
      • 2025 Municipal Elections
    • Fundy Albert Newsletter
    • Learning & Literacy
    • Ghost Stories
    • Food, Farming & Fishing >
      • Recipe Collection
    • Culture & Heritage
    • Health & Wellness
    • Environment
    • Opinions, letters and reflections
  • About Us
    • Donate
  • Jobs
    • Job Posting Submission Form
    • Job Postings
  • E-magazine
  • Calendar
  • Albert County
    • Community Directory
    • Churches
    • Living in Albert County
    • Our Villages
    • Attractions
  • Ads
  • Trails