At only four-years-old Daliyah loves reading so much she has already devoured more than 1,000 books.
Daliyah, who lives in Georgia with her parents and two older siblings, grew up listening to her mother and elder siblings read out loud. She began recognizing written words when she was just 18 months old and was reading books independently before she turned three. She has also read a number of college-age books and often reads the books her 10 and 12-year-old siblings are given at school, with her parents saying she only asks for help if she gets stuck on a “big” word.
But why 1,000 books? Because after a trip to their local library Daliyah’s mother, Haleema got the idea to sign her daughter up for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program, which is a self-paced program where parents and caregivers read with their children and track their reading progress along the way.
After Daliyah was invited to serve as “librarian for a day” at her local library, her mom wrote to Carla Hayden, the first woman, and the first African-American to hold the title of Librarian of Congress. Writing to Carla Hayden did the trick, and Daliyah was invited to an extra special day with Hayden at Washington’s Library of Congress.
Looking cute as can be Daliyah wore a bright pink dress and a matching bow for the occasion. She spent the day touring the children’s section of the library, sitting in on executive meetings and –of course—reading to Hayden and other library staff.
“She just kept saying how the Library of Congress is her most favorite, favorite, favorite library in the whole wide world,” Haleema told The Post.
Daliyah, who also loves dinosaurs, says her favourite author is children’s writer Mo Willems and hopes to inspire other children to get reading by becoming a librarian.
Image Source: Library of Congress/elle.com
