Jeffrey Stubblefield didn’t spend his summer break like most elementary school children. Then again, Stubblefield is no ordinary fourth grader.
From May 31 to August 8 this summer Stubblefield spent an astonishing 30,150 minutes reading. That adds up to roughly seven hours a day with a book.
Stubblefield devoted that time to reading to compete in the annual Tristar Reads contest and he won the new Overall Winner category easily by spending nearly 13,000 more minutes reading than his nearest competitor who’s in high school.
Talking to him, you get the feeling Stubblefield would be spending that much time reading even if there wasn’t a contest with a $1,000 scholarship on the line.
“I don’t really get tired of reading at all,” said Stubblefield. “I can learn a lot from different books.”
Stubblefield’s father John Stubblefield says the reading bug hit his son really early when he started reading Dr. Seus books as a toddler.
“Jeffrey has been a voracious reader since he was two years old. Before that the alphabet of course, yeah it came very early,” said the elder Stubblefield. “Later on, at a very young age he read Shel Silverstein’s poem books. So that’s when we really knew as well that he really had an appetite for reading and in particular he loves poetry.”
Stubblefield says his son’s hunger for reading has only grown since then and the family has looked for ways to keep him engaged in learning.
Stubblefield is a fourth grader at Belvoir Christian School in Chattanooga and his family home schools him as well everyday before classes and during the summer.
“Jeffrey has the ability to read without stopping so he can read several hours in a row without stopping,” said John Stubblefield. “He loves reading. It really is his favorite hobby and it’s something that he’s able to focus on.”
That reading ability enabled Stubblefield to win the Tri-Star Reads Elementary School category the prior two years in a row before winning the new Overall Winner category this summer.
Last Thursday Stubblefield’s school held a celebration to honor his reading accomplishments.
The 4th grader says he’s not sure exactly how many books he read or if he’ll try to win the contest a fourth time. He credits his mother and father with helping make this year’s win possible.
“My family encouraged me quite a bit,” said Jeffrey Stubblefield.
“We’re proud that he has a curiosity and a desire to read because we know that will serve him in his education and life in general,” said John Stubblefield. “We’re really proud of his character which is just as important. But we’re proud that he’s able to win because he put in the effort and hard work to make it happen and the dedication to do it the determination to do it.
Tennesseans for Student Success runs Tristar Reads and provides funding to the Tennessee Firefly.
