Plymouth Elementary School students collected hundreds of books on Friday, Sept. 25, to donate to schools in the School District of Philadelphia.

Second-grade teacher Jill Klein, who organized the donation drive, estimated the haul would reach at least 600 books. "Knowing this school, we'll have at least 600 books to donate," Klein said during the event, according to a Colonial School District post.

The Plymouth Meeting school's "Dolly Day" honored the late Dolly Parton and her Imagination Library, which distributed free books to children worldwide. Parton died Aug. 26 at age 80, as NPR reported, making the school's celebration a tribute to her legacy.

Students brought new or gently used books and dressed in country western attire for the occasion. When the school played Parton's "9 to 5" over the speakers, kids streamed out of classrooms and into the hallways for Drop Everything And Read (DEAR), reading independently and in groups.

The Sept. 25 date was itself a nod to Parton. The school chose 9/25 as a play on the song title.

Second grader Kairan summed up the connection for classmates: "Dolly gave out books, and she loved reading books. She's famous, because she sang the song 9 to 5."

Fellow second grader Lucy put it more simply: "Dolly Day's exciting, because we get to have so much fun and read so many books."

Parton launched the Imagination Library in 1995 in her native East Tennessee. The program grew to provide more than 300 million books to children around the world, according to NPR. It now serves one in six U.S. children under age 5, The Hill reported.

Colonial School District serves about 5,700 students across Conshohocken, Plymouth and Whitemarsh townships. The donated books will go to Philadelphia schools, though the district has not announced which schools will receive them or when deliveries will begin.