A Gainesville, Ga., 4-year-old has taken the nation by storm for her insatiable reading appetite.
Daliyah Marie Arana was first introduced to reading while in the womb. “I was reading to her siblings while I was pregnant an average of 15-20 minutes a day, sometimes more, throughout my entire pregnancy,” her mother, Haleema Smith-Arana, says. By 18 months, Daliyah could recognize some of the words from books her mother
Daliyah read her first book alone at 2 years and 11 months old, putting her far ahead of most toddlers her age, many of whom are still learning to speak and express themselves.
In a two-year span, Daliyah has read 1,000 books, including some college-level texts. She’s not stopping, though. The pre-k student ultimately wants to reach 1,500 books before starting kindergarten. Daliyah was rewarded for her scholarly achievements with a trip to the Library of Congress in January.
