A Kirkcaldy youngster has shown that books can be wheely cool after being named Fife’s Superstar Reader.
Nine-year-old Daanyaal Ahmad was the envy of his classmates after being crowned the region’s top reader at a special assembly.
The Dunnikier Primary School pupil read an astonishing 123 books last summer as part of a Fife-wide initiative to encourage more youngsters to use their local library.
As well as dozens of new books, Daanyaal also received a brand new mountain bike from the project’s sponsors.
“I was really excited and surprised when they said my name,” said the youngster.
“I really enjoy reading and finding out about all of the characters and stories.
“I read every few days and I’ll definitely be taking part again in this year’s challenge.”
Last summer, Fife Cultural Trust’s libraries gifted every child in P4 across Fife with a special “Superstar Library Card”.
The card allowed staff to track book borrowing and in April this year Daanyaal was identified as having read more books than any other Superstar member.
As a reward for his reading effort, Daanyaal was gifted a brand new bike from Halfords in Kirkcaldy, and when he’s not out on his new wheels, the nine-year-old will not be stuck for reading material having also won 6 ft 5 in of books, the height of the scheme’s ambassador, Sir Chris Hoy.
In total, more than 6,000 youngsters took part in the competition in Fife, with 168 becoming full-time library members as a result.
Sadia, Daanyaal’s mother, said that she was incredibly proud of her boy and his love of reading.
“I’m a bit of a bookworm myself and I have been keen to pass that on to my children,” she said.
“It’s great for their school work and vocabulary and when I see the words that Daanyaal is using it amazes me sometimes.
“I think we might need to build an extension for all of these new books though.”