Union County children took home free books and posed with a life-sized Dolly Parton cutout at an event honoring the late philanthropist's literacy legacy on Monday, Sept. 21.

The Alliance for Children, which serves families across Union County including Waxhaw, Weddington, Marvin and Wesley Chapel, hosted the celebration at its Monroe office, 2661 W. Roosevelt Blvd., Suite A. Children received free copies of "The Little Engine That Could," Dolly Parton coloring sheets and crayons, as first reported by the Enquirer Journal.

The event came 27 days after Parton died Aug. 25 at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80. Her publicist Marcel Pariseau confirmed to the Associated Press that the cause was cancer, NPR reported. Parton's official death announcement asked that donations be made to her Imagination Library in lieu of flowers, according to Good Morning America.

Parton founded the Imagination Library in 1995, inspired by her father, who could not read or write. The program mails a free book each month to registered children from birth to age 5, regardless of family income. It started in Sevier County, Tennessee, where Parton grew up, and had gifted more than 304 million books worldwide as of 2025, according to the program's website.

North Carolina became the second state to achieve statewide Imagination Library coverage in September 2018. State lawmakers funded the expansion in 2017, directing $3.5 million in the first year and $7 million in the second to Smart Start to administer the program. More than 21 million books have reached North Carolina children since then, Smart Start said.

The Alliance for Children, part of the Smart Start network, has served Union County families since 1998. The organization administered local Imagination Library enrollment for seven years before closing new registrations Feb. 1, 2025, after the program reached capacity, according to the Alliance's website. Children already enrolled continue receiving a free book each month until age 5.

Books were free.

The Alliance said it is working to secure additional funding to reopen Imagination Library enrollment in Union County. No date for resumed sign-ups has been announced.