Originally posted Tuesday, June 26, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
It’s adorable to be smart.
Just ask six-year-old Daliyah Arana. The little Gaineville girl is a rabid reader, so much so that she read 1,000 books by age four and was invited to be honorary librarian for the day at the Library of Congress.
She has been featured on CBS Morning News, NBC News and ABC News. And now she's going to be on prime time: NBC's "Little Big Shots" hosted by Steve Harvey on Thursday at 8 p.m.
Her mom Haleema, who works in financial insurance, said she and her husband read to her older kids while pregnant with Daliyah and thinks that may have left a good impression on the little girl even while in the womb.
“She knew her ABC’s by the time she was one,” Haleema said. “By the time she was 18 months, she recognized words.” They visited the local Hall County library branch three times a week. “She was into dinosaurs and wants to be a paleontologist but is now into Greek mythology,” Haleema said.
She is a favorite of Harvey’s. She actually shot an episode of his talk show a year earlier as well.
“He’s very funny,” Daliya said.
And she is a natural on TV. “For her,” her mom said, “the cameras aren’t even there. She felt right at home. It’s like Steve Harvey is one of her best friends and they’ve known each other for years!”
Daliya would like to teach literacy when she gets older. In fact, she is already doing that with other kids. At Fair Street Elementary, she already skipped kindergarten and will enter second grade this fall.
As for the trip to the Library of Congress, Haleema said, “she loved every minute of it. She shadowed a librarian for four hours.”
TV PREVIEW
“Little Big Shots,” 8 p.m. Thursday, NBC
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