On January 19th, my library will be celebrating “Dolly Day” in honor of Dolly Parton’s birthday. The library system that I work in is a partner in Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The program ships free books in the mail every month until a child turns 5 years old. We celebrate Dolly Day in order to increase registration in the program and give thanks to a person who aims to increase literacy rates in our state. To prepare for Dolly Day, I will be hosting a story time the week before to help raise awareness about the availability of the Imagination Library in our county AND share about fun programming happening on the 19th across our library system.
Sign Up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
- Visit the Website: imaginationlibrary.com
- Check Availability: Enter your address/zip code to see if the program is available in your area
- Register: Follow the prompts to sign up to start receiving books. Make sure to have a phone number, email address, and mailing address to input into the application.
- Receive Books: After registration your child will receive books in the mail until they turn 5 years old. Please note it can take a couple of months after registration to receive your first book.
Dolly Parton Book Selection
For my story times I like to pull a variety of books that I could read. I do not use all the books I select and sometimes will only read parts of the books chosen. For this story time I wanted to make sure to grab a biography and several of the books written by Dolly herself. Based off my prereading, I am focusing my story time of the Coat of Many Colors.
Welcome
To start off my story time, I will set the scene with background music. For this story time, I made a playlist that you can find here: Dolly Day Story Time. I will greet each participant as they walk into the space and offer to make them a name tag.
After everyone has settled in with their name tags, I will start with my welcome song: Hello Everybody.
Well, hello everybody!
Can you touch your toes?
Touch your nose?
Touch your nose?
Well, hello everybody!
Can you touch your nose?
Hello, everybody!
(toes, pat your head, rub your tummy)
round of applause: to conclude a segment of my story time and transition to the next, i always have the participants clap their hands around in a circle.
Announcements
Stuff the Bus
Our library is partnering with local businesses and organizations to collect school supplies for the 2026-2027 school year. Starting the collection in January is quite unconventional. However, we want to make sure to collect enough supplies for 100+ students.
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library
Since it is a Dolly Day story time, I will remind all my participants about the program.
Book One: Background Information
Dolly! The Story of Dolly Parton and her Big Dream by Robyn McGrath
The first book I chose provides important background information about Dolly Parton. When I first started doing story times, I stayed away from biographies, non-fiction, and longer narratives. I have since grown to love sprinkling these genres into my programs. The secret is that you do not read the whole book. For Dolly! I pre-read and cut down the story for a younger audience. I paper clipped pages together that I would skip. And I noted vocabulary words that might be new to children so that I would have a good definition for the word. The key to introducing longer books into your story time rotation is preparation and practice.
Round of applause
Song: The More We Get Together
I introduced the first verse of The More We Get Together to my story timers the week before. This week, I intend to add to the song.
The more we get together,
together, together
The more we get together
The happier we'll be
For your friends are my friends
and my friends are your friends
The more we get together
The happier we'll be
The more we read together,
together, together
The more we read together
The happier we'll be
Read big books and small books
Read short books and long books
The more we read together
The happier we'll be.
In the second verse, I will teach the ASL signs for read and book. I am looking for someone fluent in ASL to help me translate songs in a kid-friendly way. I use Lingvano to help myself learn ASL but am nowhere near where I need to be in language development to translate songs.
round of applause
Flannel: Coat of Many Colors
In my deep dive of all things Dolly Parton, I kept my eye out for stories that would make a great flannel board. After much consideration, I decided the Coat of Many Colors would be the best to adapt. I listened to the song, read the book, and started the brainstorming process. In the end I came up with the content below:
Flannels: 1 young dolly in brown coat and blue overalls, 12 felt squares (blue, green, teal, purple, red, orange, yellow, pink, grey, black, white, brown)
Instructions: Put the felt Dolly on the board. Tell the story and add the felt squares as you go. In the fall, it started getting cold. Dolly needed a coat to keep her warm.
Story: There was a box of rags in the house and Dolly’s mother knew exactly was to do.
Dolly’s coat started off plain brown. (put Dolly up on the felt board).
Her mother then added scraps of cloth (Add each square to the coat as it is described).
Red: One red square was dyed when they went berry picking. The berries stained the cloth in a bright, happy red.
Blue: One blue square came from an old pair of work clothes. It reminded Dolly of the wide blue sky over the mountains.
Green: One green square came from a shirt worn out in the fields. It looked like the grass and trees around Dolly’s home.
Teal: One teal square came from a fancy scrap someone didn’t need anymore. It made the coat feel extra special.
Purple: One purple square came from a church dress that was too worn to wear. Purple made the coat feel royal and proud.
Orange: One orange square came from a bright apron used in the kitchen. It reminded Dolly of warm meals and family love.
Yellow: One yellow square came from a sunny old shirt. It shined like the sun on a fall day.
Pink: One pink square came from a soft piece of cloth meant for a baby. It showed how gentle and caring her mama was.
Grey: One grey square came from everyday work clothes. It helped keep the coat strong and warm.
Black: One black square came from a coat that had been patched many times. Even worn cloth can still be useful.
White: One white square came from a flour sack. It was plain, but it helped keep Dolly cozy.
Brown: One brown square matched the original coat. It tied all the colors together.
Dolly loved her new coat and proudly wore it to school.
Unfortunately, the other kids did not understand how special the coat was.
Dolly told everyone of the love that was put in the coat by her mother.
But the kids did not understand.
That did not stop Dolly from cherishing her special coat.
It reminded her every day of the love her mama showed her. There was love in every stitch.
round of applause
Movement: Scarves
In a very predictable next move, I will give the participants color scarves to dance to The Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton. In my experience, it is best to have some pre-set moves so that families know how to interact with the music and scarf.
Core Movements
1. Wave (side to side)
2. Wrap (around shoulders like a coat)
3. Sew (pull scarf gently side to side)
4. Hug (hold scarf to chest)
Movement Ideas
“Back through the years I go wonderin’ once again…” → Wave scarf slowly
“I recall a box of rags…” → Wave scarf low, then lift it
“There were rags of many colors…” → Wave scarf high
“And I didn’t have a coat / And it was way down in the fall” → Wrap scarf around shoulders
“Momma sewed the rags together…” → Sew scarf side to side
“Sewin’ every piece with love” → Hug scarf
“She made my coat of many colors / That I was so proud of” → Wave scarf high
Chorus: “My coat of many colors…” → Wrap scarf
“Although we had no money / I was rich as I could be” → Hug scarf
“In my coat of many colors / I hurried off to school” → Wrap and march in place
“Just to find the others laughing…” → Wave scarf low and slow
“I told ’em of the love / My momma sewed in every stitch” → Sew, then Hug
“In my coat of many colors / My momma made for me” → Wrap, Hug, Freeze
After completing the song, I will sing the Barney Cleanup Song as I collect the scarves.
round of applause
Song: This is Big Big Big
I like to get the group settled again by doing a familiar song. “This is Big, Big, Big” is a hit and one that I do at almost every story time:
This is big, big, big.
This is small, small, small.
This is short, short, short.
This is tall, tall, tall.
This is fast, fast, fast.
This is slow, slow, slow.
This is yes, yes, yes.
This is no, no, no.
round of applause
Early Literacy Tip
In this story time we are exploring the story of The Coat of Many Colors in many different ways. We did a flannel, danced to the song, and now we will read the story in book form.
Hearing the same story again and again helps children understand how stories work, like what comes first, next, and last. Repeating stories in fun ways also helps kids remember language, build storytelling skills, and most importantly, enjoy books. At home, it’s okay to read the same favorite story over and over, or retell it through play, songs, or pictures. Repetition doesn’t get boring for kids. It helps their brains grow.
– Rephrased from the Supercharged Storytimes WebJunction Training
Book Two: Coat of Many Colors
My families that are signed up for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library probably have a version of this book on their shelves. Since over 70 percent of the county I serve is signed up, it is a very likely possibility that children can revisit the story easily at home. I plan to read the full book and encourage the kids to help me tell the story.
round of applause
Closing
To close out the circle time section of story time, we always sing If You’re Happy and You Know It. I will then explain the craft to the families.
round of applause
Stay & Play Activity
As we transition into this activity, I will start up the Dolly Day Story Time playlist for background music. There will be three tables set up with one table being laid flat on the ground with larger crayons. Participants will be able to design and create a patch for the libraries coat of many colors. We have a cut out of Dolly that we can add peoples creations to.
Bubbles
To signal to families that it is time to leave the space, I will put out the good ole’ bubble machine. I will typically turn it on for one full song.
Book Display
In the story time area and on top of our shelves, we will have formally selected books from the Imagination Library. They will have a tag on them that show that they are Blue Ribbon selection and information about how to sign up for the Imagination Library.
There will be Dolly Day programming all across our library system before, during, and after Dolly Day on January 19th. There will be a photo booth set up in our branch that families can use to commemorate their Dolly Day adventures. It should be lots of fun! Hopefully, our county will have the highest enrollment rate in the Imagination Library!
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