FREE Children’s Books Monthly for Kids 5 Years and Younger

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library partners with Governors’ offices throughout the United States to provide FREE Children’s Books to any child up to the age of 5. Families that enroll receive one FREE book each month until the eligible child’s 5th birthday. You can check if your state participates in the program by visiting the imagination library website.

Brain science shows that a child’s brain is already 80% developed by 3 years old. Through reading, children begin to learn words and sounds, recognize pictures, and understand emotions.

Ohio residents may enroll for the program on Imagination Library of Ohio website. Six to eight weeks following registration, the eligible child will receive the first book in the mail. Siblings under the age of 5 are also eligible and should be enrolled. There is no limit on the number of eligible children per household.

In addition to English language Children’s Books, the Imagination Library also has a Bilingual English/Spanish Book Collection. Families in Ohio can enroll their children to receive a free monthly bilingual book, or they can update their current accounts to include this new collection.

Braille and Audio Formats are also available. In partnership with American Printing House for the Blind, many of the books in the program are available in braille and audio format so that young children who are blind or have low vision can participate.

Six books are chosen each year to be converted to braille books. Braille labels are added to each of these books, bringing the whole family together by allowing them to read braille or print. You can apply online to receive these FREE braille books, or visit their website for more information about upcoming book titles or answers to frequently asked questions.

Audiobooks are also available to children. These books may only be played on a digital playback device loaned from the National Library Service or another device approved by the NLS. These devices allow children to download the audiobook files, which are posted online every month. You can simply visit their webpage for a list of the children’s audiobooks available for download, or for more information.

You can find more Child Development resources by selecting the “Child Development” category tab on our Social Service “Utilization Library” page.