Dolly Parton Is Reading Bedtime Stories To Calm Kids During Quarantine

Dolly Parton will lull us all to sleep for the next 10 weeks

There are a handful of people who seem to be the calming force when things get crazy. Though the list will vary for everyone, one person that most of us are sure to agree on is Dolly Parton. She’s peppy, straightforward, full of warmth, and it’s impossible to watch her and not smile. She’s a goddamn national treasure and now she’s coming to us from her YouTube channel to read bedtime stories to our kids so we can get a moment of peace during this quarantine.

The country icon recently announced her new ten-week series called “Goodnight with Dolly” where she will read aloud books from her Imagination Library program. The series will start this Thursday, April 2, at 7:00 PM EDT, and continue for nine more weeks.

Parton will be kicking things off by reading “The Little Engine That Could,” which she says is one of her favorite children’s books.

The books Parton will read from have been “carefully chosen for their appropriate content at this moment in time,” according to a press release. The footage from the series will include both Parton and the interior illustrations of the books, Rolling Stone reported.

“This is something I have been wanting to do for quite a while, but the timing never felt quite right,” Parton said. “I think it is pretty clear that now is the time to share a story and to share some love. It is an honor for me to share the incredible talent of these authors and illustrators. They make us smile, they make us laugh and they make us think.”

The books will include “There’s a Hole in the Log on the Bottom of the Lake” by Loren Long, “Llama Llama Red Pajama” by Anna Dewdney, “I Am a Rainbow and Coat of Many Colors” by none other than Parton herself, “Pass It On” by Sophy Henn, “Stand Tall Molly Lou Mellon” by Patty Lovell, “Violet the Pilot” by Steve Breen, “Max & The Tag-Along Moon” by Floyd Cooper, “Last Stop on Market Street” by Matt de la Peña, and “The Little Engine That Could” by Watty Piper.

Parton, also known as “The Book Lady,” has been giving gifts to children through her Imagination Library, a book gifting program, for the past 25 years. Each month, her foundation gives books to 1.5 million children around the world. “The seeds of… dreams are often found in books and the seeds you help plant in your community can grow across the world,” the singer said on her site.

In times like these, knowing we have people like Dolly Parton to help us out means everything. Here’s at least one activity that parents will likely be more excited about than our kids.