BINGHAM — United Way of Mid-Maine will host an Early Literacy Fair today from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Quimby Middle School library.

The fair will feature a display of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library books, refreshments for adults and children, a meet-and-greet with program participants and sponsors and a children’s story time. The event is free and open to the public.

The event is meant to show the importance of early childhood development and to raise awareness about the importance of reading and literacy in pre-school children. The goal is to make sure children entering kindergarten are ready to learn.

United Way of Mid-Maine offers the Dolly Parton Imagination Library to children up to age 5 who live in Jackman and Bingham. The program is free.

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library sends a book a month to every willing family with a pre-school child. The books are chosen by panel of educators and representatives from Parents as Teachers National Center, the International Reading Association, the University of Tennessee and Rutgers University. About 1,600 communities in three countries send books to more than 663,000 children, according to a United Way news release.

New research has documented the importance of the first five years of a child’s life to brain development, in that 90 percent of the brain is developed by age 5, according to United Way of Mid-Maine President Tina Chapman.

To learn more about early childhood, visit the Maine Children’s Growth Council at mainecgc.org/growth.

Doug Harlow — 612-2367

dharlow@centralmaine.com