After the news broke that Dolly Parton died, aged 80, after a “brief battle with cancer”, her surprising connection with Yorkshire has been revisited.
The much-loved singer set up Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in 1995 to provide free books to millions of children across the world – and in 2007, Rotherham was chosen to be the first European branch.
Deborah Bullivan, who ran the Imagination Library in the South Yorkshire town praised the “incredible” country music icon for her work to inspire children to read.
In Wakefield, the scheme has delivered more than 66,000 books to nearly 2,500 children across the city’s most disadvantaged areas since 2017, according to Wakefield Council.
Ansar Hayat, cabinet member for adults and health, said the 9 to 5 singer had “touched the lives of millions of people around the world through her music and work promoting reading with young people through the Imagination Library”.
