Editorial: Thumbs Up to United Way

And THUMBS UP to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library for having the imagination to create the program. Children who are registered in the program, from birth to age 5, receive a free book mailed each month to their home. The idea, of course, is to encourage reading and exploring the world around them. "It's a really wonderful opportunity for families to build a library in the home," said Rachel Torres O'Leary, childhood coordinator for United Way. The program will cost United Way $50,000 the first year. It is being partially funded by an anonymous donor and a grant from Proctor &  Gamble. Imagination Library is a project of Parton's Dollywood Foundation. It started in 1996 and now distributes more than a half-million books each month to 908 communities in the United States, Canada and Britain -- a true gift of imagination.