4-year-old African American boy reads 100 books in a day; this should be trending

Ismail Akwei December 14, 2017
Caleb Green posing next to his books -- Photo Credit: Sylus Green

A 4-year-old boy in Chicago read 100 books in one day, a goal he personally wanted to achieve with the support of his parents who streamed it live on Facebook.

Caleb Green’s parents told ABC 7 Eyewitness News that they were shocked by their son’s decision to embark on the marathon reading and were equally inspired.

“I was like, 100, son? That’s a lot of books. So at first, I had the gut reaction to talk him down a little bit but he was like, ‘No, I want to read 100,'” his father Sylus Green was quoted by ABC 7 Eyewitness News.

“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,” he added.

Caleb’s parents were supported by friends to provide the 100 books needed by the smart kid to reach his goal. He read 10 books at a time and danced to his progress.

The live videos gained a few thousand views, a disappointment especially when the likes of 11-year-old Keaton Jones whose video showed him crying and pleading against bullying in schools was viewed millions of times.

Despite his teary plea against bullying, he gained more bullies online after controversies surrounding his incarcerated father accused of being a white supremacist, and his mother who was accused of fraudulently creating a GoFundMe account to extort money from people touched by his story.

Caleb’s story is about excellence but has not gained traction like that of Keaton. Is it that people have no interest in children’s achievement? Are we more interested in the negative stories?

Meanwhile, Caleb’s father says they are not interested in GoFundMe campaigns but rather a book drive to raise 10,000 books to donate to schools for Christmas.

“Thank you all for the love and support you have been showing my babies. I have gotten TONS of request for Go Fund Me Campaigns, but we are MUCH more interested in a book drive! Please feel free to purchase books … and Caleb and his sister Jael will read the books to schools and give each child a copy for Christmas,” he posted on Facebook.

Caleb Green said he wanted to be a basketball player, an astronaut at 22 and a Ninja turtle at 23 years old.

Watch the videos below of 4-year-old Caleb’s achievement streamed by his proud parents.

Last Edited by:Ismail Akwei Updated: June 19, 2018

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