March 2020 does not bring memories of the start of something wonderful.

But it was.

Here in Ohio, it was the launch of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library program. Now, by one measure, Ohio has the highest percentage of kids enrolled in the country.

According to WLWT in Cincinnati, there are 301,457 Ohio children — 43% of Buckeye State youngsters under age 5 — enrolled.

One study showed that after three years in the program, children were 15 points higher in the kindergarten readiness category.

Officials in Belmont and Monroe counties, especially, have embraced the program. They have gone the extra mile to make parents aware of the opportunity, and they have helped to get childen enrolled.

It’s a state-level priority, too. First lady Fran DeWine has traveled the state urging people to take advantage of what it offers.

Children enrolled in the program get a new book in the mail every month until they turn 6 years old.

That is an incredible gift.

It is the kind of thing that can do some real good, not just for kids, but for Ohio as a whole.

Parton has the right idea, and we are pleased to see Ohio parents taking advantage of the program.