A child looks through books during last year’s Storybook Breakfast. This year’s event, scheduled for Saturday at Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin, is a fundraiser for Imagination Library of Johnson County. SUBMITTED PHOTO
Storybook favorites and literary legends come to life with the return of one special event.
Johnson County children will be able to meet notable characters such as Frog and Toad, Paddington Bear and the Mouse from “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” They can pose for professionally shot photographs and get autographs.
Kids can fill up on pancakes at the same time.
Imagination Library is again hosting its Storybook Breakfast, an annual fundraiser inviting children and their parents to explore the magic of reading. With sittings at 9 and 11 a.m., participants can mingle with about 15 of their favorite story characters during a breakfast of pancakes, sausage and orange juice.
The event helps Imagination Library pursue its central goal — providing free books to every kid 4 and under in the county.
“We want kids to fall in love with reading and fall in love with books — to have an early childhood association with books,” said Susan Crisafulli, president and founder of Imagination Library of Johnson County. “When they come to this event, we want them to walk in with their mouths hanging open. That’s one of our favorite things.”
Imagination Library is an organization founded by Dolly Parton in 1995. The idea was to help children in her home of Sevier County, Tennessee, achieve their dreams, stimulating their imaginations and encouraging reading within the family at an early age.
Through her foundation, Parton was able to send every child in the county who signed up a book each month.
The concept is simple — children are mailed a free book each month from birth through age 4, for a total of 60 free books by the time they enter kindergarten. Children “graduate” from the program on their fifth birthday. The first book the children receive is “The Little Engine That Could,” which includes a welcome letter from Dolly. The last book they receive is “Look Out, Kindergarten, Here I Come!”
Johnson County founded a chapter of the Imagination Library in 2017, in response to low kindergarten readiness rates in the county. Organizers raised money to provide books for kids in different zip codes, starting in Franklin and adding communities as funding for the books has been available.
Greenwood, with its dense population and a large number of children eligible for the program, was the last to be added in late 2022.
“We are just continuing to enroll more and more and more children. We’re up to almost 4,800 kids enrolled in the program,” Crisafulli said. “We’re delighted — it’s our job to get more books in the hands of more children. It’s just that’s why an event like the Storybook Breakfast is really important to us as our main fundraiser.”
The Storybook Breakfast leapt from organizers’ imaginations in 2022, as Imagination Library leaders were searching for ways to raise money to support the growing number of children signing up. The group pays approximately $6,000 per each month to provide books to each child signed up for the program.
Helping those efforts are a statewide initiative announced by Gov. Eric Holcomb in 2023 to expand the program to children in every zip code in Indiana. Holcomb signed legislation into law in May that allotted $6 million over a two-year period — $2 million in the first year and $4 million in the second year, as part of a community share to expand the program to every zip code in the state.
The breakfast is $10 per ticket for attendees 13 and older; tickets for kids 5 to 12 cost $5, and children 4 and under are free. But those costs mostly just cover the breakfast itself; Imagination Library leaders wanted to ensure the event was affordable to all families, Crisafulli said.
The greatest fundraising power comes from sponsors who support Imagination Library.
“We use that money to be able to pay for the books we send,” Crisafulli said. “Dolly is wonderful to discount the cost of the books to begin with, and we were lucky that the state legislature decided to create a statewide Imagination Library program for Indiana.”
A special partner this year is Nerdy Fox Rentals & Design, a Greenwood-based business specializing in personalized event services and unique decor. The company offered to decorate for the Storybook Breakfast, creating a whimsical setting for the magic of the morning, Crisafulli said.
“We’re just really excited what the space will look like this year in setting the tone for that exciting, magical experience for the kids,” she said.
Kids will be able to gather around Mouse to hear a reading of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff. Professional photographers will also be available to take photos of children with one of the characters, which will be mailed to them after the event.
Attendees will get to meet storybook characters and get autographs in special books included in the cost of the breakfast.
“They get to go around and get their characters’ autographs. We intend for that to be a keepsake so that love and joy continues — they take that home and it goes on their shelf,” Crisafulli said.
IF YOU GO
Storybook Breakfast
What: An event for families featuring a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, fruit, juice and coffee while participants interact with their favorite storybook characters, get photographs taken by a professional photographer and collect autographs.
Who: Imagination Library of Johnson County, a local chapter of the nonprofit founded by Dolly Parton to distribute free books to kids 4 and under.
When: 9 and 11 a.m. Saturday
Where: Grace United Methodist Church, 1300 E. Adams Dr., Franklin
Cost: $10 per ticket for adults and those 13 and older; $5 for kids ages 5-12. Children 4 and under are free. Registration is required for any attendee, regardless of price or age.
How to buy tickets: Go to imaginationlibraryjoco.org/storybookbreakfast
