When most Chicagoans were upset about waking up to snow last Saturday, Caleb Green saw it as the perfect ‘snowy day’ for a reading marathon. Caleb, age 4, set out to read 100 books in one day and his parents streamed the lit fest live on Facebook.
“I like to read and I want to read some more like my sister,” Caleb told ABC-7 News in a post-victory interview.
The challenge happened simply enough. “At lunch Caleb said, “Dad I read 9 books last night. I want to try and read 100 next,” Caleb’s father, Sylus Green, wrote in a Facebook post Sunday morning.
Green’s initial reaction, he wrote, was “100 is a LOT of books son, do you know how long it will take?” He replied “Yes. I want to read 100.”
There’s no stopping a determined child, and who would want to?
When the family returned home from lunch, Caleb’s parents began going through their bookshelves to find the 100 books. When they came up a few short, they reached out to family and friends who brought more books to the house.
WATCH: 4-YEAR-OLD CALEB GREEN READS 100 BOOKS IN A DAY, PART 1
The #CalebReads100 challenge was a village effort, even before streaming live on Facebook. Thanks to the live stream, Caleb was supported near and far by loved ones during the 8+ hours read-a-long. Currently, the streams – a total of three – have over 3,000 views and growing.
To Dad’s surprise, even people who…
…didn’t have Facebook accounts, like his best friend in Jacksonville, FL, created accounts just to cheer Caleb along the way.
Caleb’s favorite books are about Ninja turtles and dogs he told ABC-7 News.
For a young man who isn’t afraid to dream big, Caleb’s future goals are sure to come to pass. “I want to be a basketball player. When I am 22 I want to be an astronaut and when I’m 23 I want to be a Ninja turtle,” Caleb told the news outlet.
Caleb is not only an inspiration to other young people, but his determination also inspired his father. “I learned to just dream bigger and I am going to set unrealistic goals for myself this coming year and I’m going to be inspired by Caleb to not quit on him and just push through it,” Green said.
Recent history has shown us what can happen when young people are inspired to act on their bold ideas and encouraged in the process. Marley Dias, who created the #1000BlackGirlsBooks campaign when she was 11, completely shook up the book world, is named one of Forbes “30 Under 30” and is releasing her own book in 2018.
Caleb Green, #WeSeeYou and can’t wait to see how you change the world next!
WATCH: 4-YEAR-OLD CALEB GREEN READS 100 BOOKS IN A DAY, PART 2
WATCH: 4-YEAR-OLD CALEB GREEN READS 100 BOOKS IN A DAY, PART 3