Who Is
Dolly Parton?
By True Kelley
Illustrated by Stephen Marchesi
Grosset & Dunlap
An Imprint of Penguin Group (USA) LLC
For Jada, Jamaica, and JessamineTK
For Mercy Baron and the promise of a new daySM
GROSSET & DUNLAP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) LLC, 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA
USA | Canada | UK | Ireland | Australia | New Zealand | India | South Africa | China
penguin.com
A Penguin Random House Company
Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
Text copyright 2014 by True Kelley. Illustrations copyright 2014 by Stephen Marchesi. Cover illustration copyright 2014 by Nancy Harrison. Published by Grosset & Dunlap, a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014. GROSSET & DUNLAP is a trademark of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.
ISBN 978-0-698-16755-1
Version_1
Contents
Who Is
Dolly Parton?
In Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1956, a tiny girl with freckles stood alone and stared at the microphone. She was about to sing on the radio for the first time. She glanced at her Uncle Bill offstage and then looked out at the crowd. She was scared. All those eyes staring at her. Was a shy ten-year-old country girl ready for this? There were so many people here, and thousands more would be listening on their radios. It was her dream to do this, but now she wanted to run off the stage. Still, she knew this might be her only chance. She also knew her family was counting on her.
She took a shaky breath and began to sing. Her voice was thin and wobbly. Slowly it grew stronger. Soon, she was belting out her song. Almost before she finished, the crowd began cheering and clapping! They loved her! They loved her singing! They wanted more!
From that moment, Dolly Parton wanted more, too. She wanted to be a star. Dream big, and big things can happen. Those words would guide her throughout her life.
Even though she is only about five feet tall, Dolly stands out in any crowd with her curvy figure, glittery clothes, and big blond wigs. Dolly likes how she looks. She doesnt care what other people think. She has always been true to herself. Her upbeat, down-home, honest, and funny personality charms everyone.
There is no one else like her.
Chapter 1
The Parton Family
Dolly grew up in a large, poor family in Tennessee. Avie Lee Owens and Robert Lee Parton, Dollys parents, married in 1939 when Avie Lee was only fifteen and Lee was seventeen. They rented a log cabin far out in the woods. Avie Lee hated it and moved back with her parents. There, she had her first baby, Willadeene. After a year, Avie Lee and Lee got back together. They moved into a rented shack in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains. Lee was a hardworking farmer. He grew tobacco, beans, corn, potatoes, and turnips. But he was a sharecropper.
Sharecropping meant that Dollys dad didnt own the land and had to share about half of the money from his crops with the landowner. It was a hard way to support a family, and soon another baby, David, came along... and then another, Denver.
By now, the five Partons had moved to a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in East Tennessee. They didnt have electricity, running water, or an indoor bathroom.
One snowy winter night, someone went to get the doctor.
Avie Lees fourth baby was on the way. Doc Thomas rode on horseback to the cabin where Dolly Parton was born on January 19, 1946. The Partons had no money, so they paid the doctor with a bag of cornmeal. That was a good trade.
While Dolly was growing up, the Parton family moved several times. Once, they lived so far out in the woods that their nearest neighbors were two miles away! The Partons had no radio, newspapers, or TV. They counted on their neighbors for news and for help in tough times. To go visiting, to church, or to school, they had to cross a river on a rope bridge and walk.
When Dolly was four, the Partons bought a farm. It was rundown, but it was theirs. They stayed there until Dolly was ten. Three or four Parton kids slept in one bed with all their clothes on.
THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS
THE SMOKIES ARE PART OF THE APPALACHIAN MOUNTAIN RANGE. THEY ARE NAMED FOR THE FOG THAT OFTEN HANGS OVER THEM. THEY RUN ALONG THE TENNESSEENORTH CAROLINA BORDER IN THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. THE HIGHEST PEAK IS CLINGMANS DOME AT 6,643 FEET.
CHEROKEE INDIANS LIVED IN THE FORESTS AND FOOTHILLS OF THE SMOKIES UNTIL SETTLERS FROM EUROPE FORCED THEM OUT. MANY OF THE SETTLERS WERE SCOTCH-IRISH. THEY LIVED IN SIMPLE LOG CABINS AND FARMED IN THE MOUNTAIN VALLEYS. MUSIC AND RELIGION WERE VERY IMPORTANT AND HELPED BRING ISOLATED COUNTRY PEOPLE TOGETHER.
FROM THE DEPRESSION THROUGH THE 1950S, THE AREA WAS DESPERATELY POOR. PEOPLE STARTED TO LEAVE BECAUSE THERE WERE SO FEW JOBS. TODAY, TOURISM HAS HELPED THE AREA WITH ATTRACTIONS LIKE THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK AND DOLLYWOOD.
