Dolly Parton, who died on Tuesday aged 80, visited Rotherham in South Yorkshire in 2007 to launch the UK edition of her Imagination Library, a scheme sending free books to under-fives to encourage reading. The first recipient was two-day-old Emma Jarman, whom Parton met and cradled in hospital, jokingly asking her parents Shane and Claire whether they would name their daughter after her. The visit has left a lasting family memory as tributes continue to be paid to the singer's cultural legacy and her advocacy for children's literacy.

Shane Jarman, now 59, recalled being called to Rotherham Hospital and finding himself "totally starstruck" as Parton examined baby Emma and admired her fingers, though the couple had already settled on the name Emma and decided "Dolly didn't seem a very Yorkshire name". Monthly books continued arriving through their letterbox until the Rotherham scheme ended in 2015, and Emma, now 18 and preparing for university, has kept her signed copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, while other books from the scheme are now read by children at the nursery her parents run in Hampshire. Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust said staff "fondly remember" the visit and praised Parton's legacy as an entertainer and literacy advocate.