Who doesn’t love a little Dolly? Too smiley, too flashy, too positive for ya? All the reasons I love her! I stumbled upon an audiobook of hers years ago and my interest in her life has only grown. She has not had an easy road but she is beyond grateful for all the support to get her where she is. That, to me, is the good stuff in life.
Here’s a smattering of books for you and the littles!
Littles
I couldn’t love this Little People, Big Dreams series if I tried. Isabel Sanchez Vegara wrote Dolly Parton for little ones and it’s uh-dorable! Both Hope and Motor liked this and the illustrations are fan-freaking-tastic! She is described as such a caring, beautiful soul in this book and I just love that!
The author also wrote the Harriet Tubman book we read here. I’m a big fan of hers!
Dolly Parton wrote Coat of Many Colors and oh my rainbow, it’s a delight. This picture book tells of Dolly’s mama getting a box of used rags and making it into a coat because Dolly didn’t have one. Sweet Dolly was made fun of for this but she remembers a beautiful lesson – you’re only poor if you choose to be. I adore these illustrations!
Emerging Readers
It is no secret that I have a deep love for this Who Is series. Hence, I knew I had to include Who Is Dolly Parton by True Kelley in my dive into all things Dolly. This is a fantastic, easy-to-read biography about our girl that goes in depth about her rise to fame. What I loved about this book was the author’s focus on Dolly’s appreciation and gratitude to those who helped her get where she is. DP doesn’t take a thing for granted.
Adult
Dolly Parton Songteller is an incredible anthology of stories from way-back-when to current days. She is big on calling people out who helped her in any way, and I couldn’t love her more. I listened to the audiobook of this after I paged through her book and MAN, it sure paints a picture! She makes this career look easy, but it’s far from it! Listen to this one!
Dream More is SUCH a fun listen! (Well, truthfully, I could listen to Dolly rattle off a grocery list and be fascinated…) This book is all about her interest in literacy and push to create her Imagination Library for kiddos worldwide to have access to books. A fast book that really celebrates her seeing the need in her own community and doing something about it!