--- title: Dolly Parton's Picture Books for Children, and How UK Families Can Still Get Her Free Books Every Month description: Every children's book Dolly Parton wrote, from Coat of Many Colors to Billy the Kid, and how UK parents register for her free monthly books. author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-11-05T10:30:00.040Z updated: 2026-11-05T10:30:00.059Z canonical: https://richbooksmagazine.com/article/dolly-parton-books-for-children-free-uk-books image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/unsplash-eqltydzrx7u.webp categories: Reading Lists content_type: Guide region: United Kingdom publication: Rich Books schema_type: Article about: - type: Person name: Dolly Parton description: American country music singer, songwriter, businesswoman and philanthropist; founder of Dollywood and the Imagination Library. url: https://www.dollyparton.com --- Searches for Dolly Parton's books have risen sharply in the UK since she died in Nashville on 25th August 2026, aged 80. Most people searching want one of two things: the picture books she wrote herself, or the free books her charity posts to young children. This guide covers both. ## The picture books Dolly Parton wrote Parton wrote five picture books for children. Two grew out of her songs and her childhood in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, and three follow a singing French bulldog. ### Coat of Many Colors ### Book: Coat of Many Colors By Dolly Parton Dolly Parton sets the lyrics of her song Coat of Many Colors to pictures by Brooke Boynton-Hughes. A girl whose mother sews her a winter coat from rags is mocked by her classmates for being poor, and comes to see that the coat was made with love in every stitch. For ages three to seven. [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0451532376) This is the one to start with. It sets the lyrics of her 1971 song to pictures and tells the story of a girl whose mother sews her a winter coat from rags. Her classmates mock her for being poor, and she comes to understand that the coat was made with love in every stitch. The book first appeared in 1994. The edition most families own today, illustrated by Brooke Boynton-Hughes, was published on 18th October 2016 for children aged three to seven. Penguin issued a 10th anniversary edition of that version this year, with a butter-yellow fabric cover and a new foreword from Parton. It gives parents an easy way into a conversation with a child about money, kindness and being teased. Buy: [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0451532376) | [Amazon US](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0451532376) | [Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/coat-of-many-colors-dolly-parton/1001819445?ean=9780451532374) ### I Am a Rainbow ### Book: I Am a Rainbow By Dolly Parton Dolly Parton's picture book about feelings, told through colours, illustrated by Heather Sheffield. [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0399247335) Published in 2009 and illustrated by Heather Sheffield, I Am a Rainbow is her picture book about feelings, told through colours. It is the shortest and simplest of her books and suits the youngest readers. Buy: [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0399247335) ### The Billy the Kid series Parton based Billy, a French bulldog with dreams of a music career, on her god-dog. She wrote the three books with Erica S. Perl, and MacKenzie Haley illustrated them. Each runs to about 40 pages and is aimed at children from four to seven. ### Book: Dolly Parton's Billy the Kid Makes It Big By Dolly Parton & Erica S. Perl The first picture book about Billy the Kid, a French bulldog with dreams of a music career, inspired by Dolly Parton's god-dog. Written with Erica S. Perl and illustrated by MacKenzie Haley. A New York Times bestseller. [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0593661575) Billy the Kid Makes It Big came out in April 2023 and became a New York Times bestseller. Billy faces down bullies on his way to the stage, and Kirkus Reviews called it a 'wholesome howl'. Buy: [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0593661575) | [Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolly-partons-billy-the-kid-makes-it-big-dolly-parton/1142782702) ### Book: Dolly Parton's Billy the Kid Comes Home for Christmas By Dolly Parton & Erica S. Perl Billy the Kid, the singing French bulldog, has to choose between performing at the Barkafeller Center and spending Christmas with his family. Written by Dolly Parton with Erica S. Perl and illustrated by MacKenzie Haley. [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0593755006) Billy the Kid Comes Home for Christmas followed on 1st October 2024. Billy has to choose between performing at the Barkafeller Center and spending Christmas with his family, which makes it the natural pick for a December bedtime. Buy: [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0593755006) | [Amazon US](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593755006) | [Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolly-partons-billy-the-kid-comes-home-for-christmas-dolly-parton/1144947838?ean=9780593755006) ### Book: Dolly Parton's Billy the Kid Dances His Heart Out By Dolly Parton & Erica S. Perl The third Billy the Kid picture book, in which the singing French bulldog has to overcome his fear of dancing in front of an audience. Dolly Parton wrote the song 'Bella' to accompany it and narrated the audiobook. [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0593755022) Billy the Kid Dances His Heart Out, published on 2nd December 2025, was the last picture book released in her lifetime. Billy has to overcome his fear of dancing in front of an audience. Parton wrote a song, 'Bella', to go with it and narrated the audiobook herself, so children can still hear her read it. Buy: [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0593755022) | [Barnes & Noble](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dolly-partons-billy-the-kid-dances-his-heart-out-dolly-parton/1147327821?ean=9780593755020) ## Which one to buy first For a toddler, I Am a Rainbow is short enough to hold their attention. For a child of three to seven, Coat of Many Colors carries the most meaning and stays with children longest. For a child who loves dogs or music, start the Billy the Kid series at the beginning, although each book stands alone. As a Christmas present, the Christmas Billy book and the anniversary Coat of Many Colors are the two that feel most like gifts. ## How UK families get her free books The books most British children connect with Dolly Parton are not the ones she wrote. They come from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, the programme she founded in Tennessee in 1995, which posts a free book every month to a child from birth to their fifth birthday. By the time of her death it had given away more than 332 million books in the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia and Ireland. Parton travelled to London in December 2007 to launch the programme here, and the first British book was posted in 2008. Each book arrives wrapped and addressed to the child by name, and families pay nothing. The programme has kept growing since her death. In September it doubled its reach in London, making 157,000 more children eligible for a free book each month. ### Who can sign up Eligibility depends on where you live. The Dollywood Foundation runs the central programme and chooses the books, while local partners such as councils, libraries, charities and businesses enrol the children in their area and pay for the books. That costs a partner about £26 per child per year for 12 books. If a local partner covers your postcode, your child can join. If not, the programme is not yet available to you. ### How to register Go to the [Imagination Library's check availability page](https://imaginationlibrary.com/check-availability/), choose the United Kingdom and enter your postcode. If a programme covers your area, you can register your child online. Many councils, including Camden and Wandsworth in London, also explain the scheme on their own websites. ### What arrives in the post A panel of early years experts chooses the books, and Penguin Random House UK publishes them. The first book a British child receives is a personalised copy of Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Peter Rabbit, and the last, in the month they turn five, is a personalised book called Just Imagine. In between come picture books, rhymes, first non-fiction and new titles, matched to the child's age. ### Book: The Tale of Peter Rabbit By Beatrix Potter Beatrix Potter's classic picture book about a mischievous rabbit who slips into Mr McGregor's garden. A personalised copy is the first book British children receive from Dolly Parton's Imagination Library. [Amazon UK](https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=The+Tale+of+Peter+Rabbit+Beatrix+Potter) ### If your area has no programme Anyone can start one. Businesses, councils, charities, churches and individuals can become local partners by contacting the Dollywood Foundation's regional directors through the [Imagination Library UK website](https://imaginationlibrary.com/uk/), which also has a cost estimator for working out what a postcode, town or county would need. ## FAQ **Q: Does Dolly Parton still send books to children?** Yes. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library still posts a free book every month to registered children from birth to age five in the UK, Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia, and it has kept expanding since her death in August 2026. Whether a child can join depends on whether a local partner covers their area, which parents can check on the Imagination Library website. **Q: Which children's books did Dolly Parton write?** Dolly Parton wrote five picture books for children: Coat of Many Colors, based on her song; I Am a Rainbow (2009); and three books about a French bulldog called Billy the Kid, written with Erica S. Perl: Billy the Kid Makes It Big (2023), Billy the Kid Comes Home for Christmas (2024) and Billy the Kid Dances His Heart Out (2025). **Q: How to get Dolly Parton books for children?** Her own picture books are sold in bookshops and online. The free books from her Imagination Library are posted monthly to children under five, at no cost to families, wherever a local partner runs the programme. Parents register on the Imagination Library website by entering their country and postcode.