4-Year-Old Girl Reads More Than 1,000 Books : NPR

kelly mcevers, host:

In a year, a typical American will read about four books. for more serious readers, it’s more like 50 or a hundred. Daliyah Arana has read more than a thousand books in the last two years. that’s 1,000. and daliyah is 4 years old. She got all that reading she got her a trip to the Library of Congress where she was made an honorary librarian for the day last week.

You are reading: 4 year old reads 1000 books

Daliyah Arana and her mom, Haleema, are with us now from Gainesville, Ga., where they live. hello both.

haleema spider: hi.

daliyah arana: hi.

mevers: what was it like being at the library of congress?

daliyah: I had a lot of fun.

mevers: yes.

daliyah: aha.

mcevers: haleema, when did you start reading to daliyah and when did she take over the reading job?

spider: I started reading to him immediately after he was born. she practically hugged her and she listened to stories while I read to my two oldest children. and actually she was memorizing many of the words that she would see in the books. and it was at a point where she wanted to pick up the book and say, I want to do this now. and she took off from there.

mevers: most kids don’t learn to read until they’re 4 or 5, even 6. you must have been aware, like, wow, she’s really starting early.

spider: It’s actually something I did with my three kids. but with her, I just took it to the next level just because of her passion and her love for him.

See also  14 Must-Read Books for Women in Their 20s - Archziner.com

mcevers: daliyah, was it your idea to read a thousand books?

See Also: Top 10 Books To Read Before You Die | Books

daliyah: no, it was mommy’s idea.

mcevers: did you think that was going to be hard, boy, or did you think it was going to be easy?

daliyah: That was easy because I love to read.

mcevers: so haleema, it was your idea to read a thousand books. where did you get the idea?

spider: I actually read about – there was an article in a local paper about a young lady who had just finished the show, and that’s where I got the idea. she hears, you know, daliyah, she’s already reading a lot. this is a great way for me to start counting.

mcevers: But that show wasn’t about how many books parents should read to kids, right? and you took it one step further.

spider: Right, I did, and he really enjoyed it because every time he completed a 50-book check-in, he would return it to the library and get a little prize. and that’s what kept her motivated too.

mevers: oh great. daliyah, can you hear me?

daliyah: hi.

mevers: hello. Do you remember the first book you read?

daliyah: “ann’s big bun”.

mcevers: “ann’s big muffin”.

daliyah: yes.

mevers: what is your favorite book right now?

See Also: Is There Any Evidence for Jesus Outside the Bible? | Cold Case Christianity

daliyah: my favorite book is “the pigeon finds a hotdog!”

mevers: “the pigeon finds a hot dog!” – I love “dove” books. what happens in that book?

daliyah: well, it’s about a duckling and the dove. They fight over the hot dog. and the duckling breaks it in half at the end.

See also  11 Books to Read If Youre Deconstructing Your Faith — The Sophia Society

mevers: and they share it.

daliyah: and share.

mcevers: daliyah arana, thank you very much.

daliyah: you’re welcome.

mcevers: and haleema arana, thanks too.

spider: thank you.

mcevers: daliyah arana was a librarian for a day at the library of congress last week. here she is reading her favorite book.

daliyah: “the pigeon finds a hotdog!” – words and images of mo willems. oh, a hot dog – yummy, yummy, yummy. Oh can I help you? is that a hot dog – not a hot dog, my hot dog. oh, i don’t think so…

(excerpt from sufjan stevens song, “the tallest man, the broadest shoulders”)

Copyright © 2017 npr. All rights reserved. visit the terms of use and permissions pages of our website at www.npr.org for more information.

an npr contractor creates npr transcripts on a rush deadline. this text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. accuracy and availability may vary. the authorized record of npr programming is the audio record.

See Also: 7 Motivational Books for Employees That Managers Should Recommend – The Camelo Blog

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *