WINTHROP, Maine — Dolly Parton's Imagination Library in Maine faces an uncertain future as state funding to support the program ends in June 2026.

Imagination Library sends free books directly to kids' homes to help children up to 5 years old start reading.

Leaders with the Imagination Library of Kennebec County said more than 1,500 kids currently use their local program out of more than 5,000 kids eligible.

"We live down a dirt road, and the benefit is that for working parents that aren't able to get out to the library or purchase books, it's nice because they're delivered to our mailbox once a month," Winthrop parent Shannon McDonnell said.

McDonnell said her sons, 4-year-old Mason and 2-year-old Parker, are always eager to pick up a book, many of which come from the Imagination L

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