A young girl reading a book titled The Chronicles of Willow Creek with a sleeping orange and white cat beside her on an armchair

Free Book Program for Kids (0-5 years old) in Illinois

Parents in Illinois can enroll children aged 0-5 in Dolly Parton’s “Imagination Library Program,” which offers free, age-appropriate books. Funded by the state and community organizations, this program aims to provide 60 books by kindergarten. As of early 2026, over 97,000 children are enrolled and have received nearly 1.6 million books.

I am grateful I can read.

#ProjectZen #Day2 #GratitudeProject My mother instilled a deep love of reading in me very early in life. She was an avid reader of romance novels and all kinds of magazines. I never did get into romances (although I did read quite a few “light” Harlequin romance novels as a teenager). Early on I remember Dr.…