Plenty of people have reported trouble sleeping during the coronavirus pandemic, but perhaps Dolly Parton can help.
Dolly Parton announced Monday that she will be launching a video series during which she will read bedtime stories to children in order to provide them with a “welcome distraction during a time of unrest.”
Parton said in a release that she would choose books that provide “comfort and reassurance to kids and families during the shelter-in-place mandates.” Parton will read a new book every Thursday at 7 p.m. EST for the next ten weeks.
While “Goodnight with Dolly” is geared toward kids, many of her adult fans said they plan to tune in to hear Parton’s calming voice.
Parton, who calls herself “the book lady,” has already donated more than 100 million books over the years through her Imagination Library program that gifts books to kids from birth until age five.
Among the books, Parton plans to read during the series is the children’s classic “The Little Engine That Could,” which the nine-time Grammy winner says she has always found to be a “source of inspiration.” she will also read Sophy Henn’s “pass It On,” Patty Lovell’s “Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon,” Steve Breen’s “violet the pilot” and Matt de la peña’s “Last Stop on Market Street” as well as two books Parton wrote herself, “Coat of Many Colors” and “I Am a Rainbow.”
“It is an honor for me to share the incredible talent of these authors and illustrators,” Parton wrote. “They make us smile, they make us laugh and they make us think.”
A documentary about Dolly’s love of literature and her formation of the Imagination Library titled “The Library That Dolly Built” was slated for release this week. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, the release of the documentary has been postponed until September.
“I think God is in this, I really do,” she said in the video. “I think he’s trying to hold us up to the light so we can see ourselves and see each other through the eyes of love. I think that when this passes, we’re all gonna be better people.”
