It was fun to have 4-year-old Daliyah Marie Arana of Gainesville, GA as "Librarian For The Day." She's already read more than a 1,000 books. pic.twitter.com/MQfwlUrakO
— Carla Hayden (@LibnOfCongress) January 11, 2017
If your New Year’s resolution was to “read more,” it’s a good thing because you’ve got some catching up to do.
As Bustle points out, 4-year-old Daliyah Marie Arana has read over 1,000 books, and that’s a number that would put a lot of adults to shame. According to The Washington Post, her parents believe her love of reading started before she was even born.
While pregnant with Daliyah, her mother used to read aloud to her other children. Then, after Daliyah was born, she used to sit and listen while her brothers read chapter books aloud. From then on, she couldn’t be stopped. It was her turn to do the reading now.
“She wanted to take over and do the reading on her own,” her mother, Haleema Arana, told The Washington Post. “It kind of took off from there. The more words she learned, the more she wanted to read.”
At just 2 years and 11 months, she read her very first book, all on her own. Impressive.
The family decided to keep track of how much she was reading by participating in the “1,000 Books By Kindergarten” program, according to USA Today. The Washington Post says she was about 3 years old when she first signed up.Her reading was so impressive that when Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, heard the news, she decided to give Daliyah the honor or being “Librarian For The Day” and the two roamed the halls of the Library of Congress together, no big deal.
According to the Gainesville Times, Daliyah has big plans for reading that extend beyond her personal love for it.
“I like to check out books every day,” she said. “And I want to teach other kids to read at an early age, too.”
So, stop what you’re doing and pick up a book. Read for yourself, read with your child. Read, read, read. Just like little Daliyah!
[h/t: Bustle]