Reading West MP, Martin Salter, has been working over the last year to ensure that Reading was chosen to be one of the next towns to benefit from the revolutionary pre-school reading scheme pioneered by country and western singer, Dolly Parton.

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library has delivered millions of books across America and Canada to 0-5 year-olds, to drive up literacy standards and to encourage parents to read to their children from an early age.

Two years ago, the scheme came to Rotherham in Yorkshire and a chance meeting between Martin Salter and a Dolly Parton fan in the House of Commons has resulted in the Dollywood Foundation choosing Reading as their second UK venue.

Mr Salter said: ” By no stretch of the imagination would I call myself a fan of country and western music, but I am a massive admirer of Dolly Parton and all she has achieved, both in her own life, and in the way she has sought to improve educational opportunities for millions of young children. This scheme, which will begin in Whitley, in the heart of my constituency, has the potential to make a real difference for hundreds of local youngsters. After all, if education is the route to opportunity, then literacy is the route into making the most of your education.”

He added: ” I am very grateful to my colleague and Dolly-fan Sam Dowling, from the Royal Mail, who took time out at the end of a furious row I was having with her bosses over the proposed closure of post offices in Tilehurst to tell me about plans by the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to expand into the UK. I heard that they were looking for a supportive MP and a town with a can-do attitude. I made it clear that she need look no further than Reading.”