Girl, 4, Reads 100 Books In 1 Day At Glen Ellyn Public Library

GLEN ELLYN, IL — Evelyn Brodeur, 4, was getting ready for bed one Wednesday night when she suddenly asked, "Mom, can we call the library?" A self-proclaimed "bookworm," Evelyn couldn't sleep until she knew the record number of books a child had read in one day at Glen Ellyn Public Library.

When Evelyn's mom, Frances, called the library, staff members told her nobody had ever tried to set that record. Evelyn then told her mother she wanted to read 100 books.

"There is no record yet," Frances explained. "You could read 10 and that could be the record."

"No. One hundred," Evelyn said.

Frances told Patch she and Evelyn usually read three or four books before bedtime and that takes about 30 minutes.

"Holy, cow. What did I just commit to?" Evelyn wondered. "We could be there for...awhile."

That following Saturday, June 12, Evelyn and Frances packed some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and headed to the library, getting there just as it opened. A little more than five hours later, Evelyn (with the help of her mom) had read 100 books...out loud.

To start, they plucked just 30 books from the shelves, with the help of librarians.

"I think initially [the librarians] were initially thinking, 'Let’s see how long your toddler makes it,'" Frances said.

Despite the daunting task ahead, there was "no hesitation" from Evelyn about staying, Frances explained. She said Evelyn kept saying, “Let’s keep going. Read read read!” and didn't utter a single complaint.

The pair paused their reading marathon only briefly to take a bathroom break and refuel with a cookie from the library's café.

After spending five hours —well, to be precise, five hours and three minutes— reading at the library, Evelyn had set the record for most books read in one day. The librarians presented her with a bookmark, a certificate and a gift card in honor of their efforts.

"They were really sweet," Frances said.

Evelyn, who is getting ready to start pre-school at The Growing Place, told Patch it felt "good" to finish reading all those books. She said she remembers every single book she and Frances read that day.

"I'm a bookworm," Evelyn said. "Do you know what a bookworm is?" she asked.

Evelyn explained, "People who love to read books."And Evelyn is definitely a person who loves to read books.

“All day long, she’s like, 'I want to read more books. I want more books. I want to read more books,'" Frances told Patch. "She always has her nose in a book."

Evelyn's passion for reading is already an inspiration for her younger sister, Lily, 2. Frances said her husband, Mark, always encourages library visits for their daughters.

"Evelyn and Lily go into the library so often because they always have a lot of creative [activities] and programs," Frances said. "We’re there weekly."

Reading a record-setting 100 books was just the start for Evelyn, whose next goal is to read 1000 books before she starts kindergarten. She's just a couple of weeks in, and she's already at 200, with a head start from those epic five hours at Glen Ellyn Public Library.

Evelyn may have read 100 books that day, but she still checked out one more from the library before leaving.

By the time the pair got home, Frances was eager to rest. She said her own voice was "gone" from helping Evelyn read aloud.

What did Evelyn do the moment they got home?

She walked up to her dad, Mark, with her new book in tow and asked, "Dad, can we read this book?"