Families in Garden Hill First Nation can now sign up to get a free book in the mail each month for every child from birth to age four. The Manitoba First Nations Education Resource Centre has brought the Imagination Library program to the fly-in community, making brand-new, age-appropriate books available at no cost.
The MFNERC Imagination Library is run with the Dollywood Foundation, the group behind Dolly Parton’s book program. Each child gets a book mailed in their own name every month right to their door. The books keep coming until the child turns five and finishes the program.
MFNERC is currently gathering feedback through a province-wide evaluation survey, open to anyone who is receiving or has ever received monthly books. Everyone who finishes the survey has a chance to win a $200 prepaid Visa card. The feedback will help shape the program going forward.
Karyn Davis, the Imagination Library coordinator for MFNERC, is an early childhood educator from Ebb and Flow First Nation. She has pushed for the program to reach families across Manitoba. Getting books into homes early helps children get comfortable with reading before they start school, and it gives parents a simple way to bond, even if it is just 15 minutes a day.
MFNERC also plans to add books that show First Nations cultures within the next year. In 2023, about 1,250 children were signed up, but the goal is to reach 5,000 children across the 38 communities it serves. Garden Hill has two schools, but there is no public library, and books are hard to find in stores, so the mailed books fill an important gap for early learning.
