2006年VOA标准英语-Literary Prodigy Shares Passion for Reading and

After publishing her first book when she was only seven, Adora Svitak was dubbed¹ a "Tiny Literary Giant" by Diane Sawyer of Good Morning America. For producer Liu Enming, Elaine Lu has the story of this child prodigy².

Adora Svitak started writing when she was only four. She published her first book Flying Fingers at seven, and authored more than 400 short stories. Flying Fingers was published in four languages for international audiences. Recently she was invited to New York City's Stony³ Brook⁴ University to speak to aspiring⁵ children and their parents at the Charles Wang Center.

Adora Svitak

Adora Svitak was invited in 2005 to appear on Good Morning America, a popular ABC morning television program, to demonstrate her writing talent. The famous late anchor Peter Jennings was on the set that day, and showed great interest in this literary genius. He even sent her his own history book, The Century for Young People, after learning that little Adora loves history.

Under the limelight, Adora might be a celebrity⁶ surrounded by fame and adoration⁷, but at home, she is just an ordinary little girl who loves to play.

Adora reads insatiably: more than 2,000 books over the past five years. She says books are like wings for her imagination. "Yes, I love to read and write because it gives me a chance to express myself and I can share my thoughts with others," she says. "And through reading, I gain knowledge and I have fun, and I can go to other places because books are like wings."

Along with being an avid¹² reader, Adora is a self-proclaimed "amateur historian" and a news junkie who often works today's headlines into her writing.

"I am going to read you a sample of one of my stories, which is called Yang in Disguise. My two new books are called Yang in Disguise and The Pickpocket¹³ Princess,"the girl explains. Yang in Disguise is a political satire¹⁴ of President Bush, because I disapprove¹⁵ of many of his policies."

Adora's mother Joyce Svitak credits dedication¹⁶ and commitment for her daughter's success. She says, "She might be precocious¹⁷, and she is intelligent. But I think the most important component¹⁸ of her success is her hard work."

Adora enjoys traveling to schools and sharing her love of reading and writing with other children, because it is part of her clear goals for the future. "To inspire other children to read and write, I also hope to make the world a better place. I also want to write more books," she says.