BY HARRISON, OSCAR, SAMMY AND JUDE

We have found the ultimate Dolly Parton fan at JKPS.

She is Ms. Chantelle and she loves everything about Dolly. She even has a pair of cowboy boots to prove it.

We interviewed Ms. Chantelle and she told us that her favourite Dolly Parton song is “I Will Always Love You.”

The reason is that she loves the singer Whitney Houston and only found out later that Dolly actually wrote that song which Whitney made famous.

Apart from being a country music superstar, Dolly was a really good person in general.

She wanted to stop children in her hometown in Tennessee, in the United States, from dropping out of high school so introduced a buddy programme.

If a student and their buddy both graduated, she promised to hand them $500 each.

We also love Dolly because she sent loads of free books to children under 5 around the world.

It is known as the Imagination Library.

Harrison, one of the Mog Chronicle reporters working on this story, was one of them.

“The books were lovely and you got them once a month for five years,” he said.

“I was glad I had them because now I still read them sometimes.”

Other students in JKPS told us what they like about Dolly.

Ruby in Year 5 said: “I love the songs.”

Sylvia in Year 5 said: “I like her songs and her style.”

Here is our exclusive interview with Ms. Chantelle.

What’s your favourite Dolly Parton song?

So my favourite song is “I Will Always Love You.” One of my favourite artists is Whitney Houston and then I found out after that it was actually Dolly Parton that wrote and sang that song. It’s such a beautiful song.

What do you like about Dolly?

“She’s not very tall, but she had bright blonde big hair. She always wore very glittery clothes and just looked always fantastic.

“I love that the expression of her music came through her whole entire character. That’s one of the big things that I loved about Dolly.

“I don’t know if you know this, but Dolly was not just a musician. She did a lot for children with her Imagination Library.

“I think she was someone that children and adults could look up to because she wasn’t just about music. She was an author too and encouraged reading. It’s so important for all of us to read. I feel the same as Dolly. I want everyone to be reading.”

Why do you have cowboy boots?

“I actually used to live in the U.S., in North Carolina, and where I lived they used to do a lot of line dancing. So I had cowboy boots from there.

Somehow I lost them with all my moving so I really wanted another pair. I think I bought them a week before Dolly passed away.”

We told Ms. Chantelle that during our interviews, some people – like the P.E. coaches and a few other students – didn’t know who Dolly Parton was.

“Don’t you worry,” Ms. Chantelle said. “They’re going to know by the end of today. I’m going to make sure – alright!?”