Whiz Kid: Jonathan Arechiga is a Remarkable Reader

Whiz Kid's Name: Jonathan Arechiga

Age: 11

Whiz Kid's School:

Whiz Kid's Accomplishment: He's the top reader in the Accelerated Reader program at his school.

Whiz Kid's Key to Awesomeness: "Jonathan has always been a very dedicated student," said Jeff Ballam, who is Arechiga's teacher. "I always see him with a book. He doesn't even like to go to recess, so he can sit and read. He'll take a book outside, sit in the yard and read it."

Arechiga said fiction books are his favorite to read. He also said the seventh book in the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, is his favorite of all time.

"Reading makes me feel happy," Arechiga said.

The sixth grade student credits one of his former teachers for turning him into an avid reader.

"When I was in third grade my teacher started reading books to us," Arechiga said. "I got into the series so I had my mom buy it for me and I just started reading from there."

The series he mentioned is the A to Z Mysteries by children's author Ron Roy.

According to Monte Vista Street School Principal, Megan Guerrero, the Accelerated Reader program tracks the number of words read by each student throughout the year.

Arechiga has reached the 1,000,000 word mark every year since he was in the fourth grade.

The 11-year-old reads almost everyday and has read over 100 books during his stint at MVSS. Arechiga said his favorite place to curl up with a book is in his bedroom.

"I feel good about being the top reader in my school," Archiga said.

Ballam said,"Even his mother says that he will be eating dinner and be reading. He's constantly got a book or two or three."