Whiz Kid: Shipley Newspaper Reader Jon Campbell Basralian

Editor's note: Whiz Kid is a weekly series in which we will highlight the special accomplishments of neighborhood kids or teenagers.

Each week, we will seek suggestions from readers for individual kids, youth groups, teens and even sports teams that wow us with their accomplishments. We want to hear about these amazing children and teens and select one each week as our Whiz Kid.  Submit your nomination in our comment box below or e-mail the information to danielle.vickery@patch.com.

This week's Whiz Kid: Jon Campbell Basralian

- School: Shipley School first grader; Jon lives in Strafford, Pa.

- Accomplishment: Jon reads The Philadelphia Inquirer every morning on his way to school. Some days, he reads The Wall Street Journal.

Jon likes reading the comics, and he reads sports news and other interesting articles aloud to his mother during the ride to school. 

"I like to read," Jon said of his hobby. "The stuff you read happened recently, and it's not really old stuff."

- Key to awesomeness: 

Jon got a manual typewriter for Christmas that he uses to do his homework. He's working on writing a book called "The Mystery of the Stolen Typewriter."

"It's about a typewriter and a rat who steals it, and then my friends and I have a really big adventure," Jon said.

Jon also enjoys playing the piano, horseback riding, and collecting model planes, cars and boats, he said. His favorite subject in school is art.

"You can be really creative and do a lot of fun stuff in art," Jon said.

He said his friends don't know about his newspaper reading hobby because he's never told them about it, and said they'd also probably be surprised to know his favorite color is pink.

Jon is a Phillies fan and has a cat named Chase after his favorite player--Phillies second baseman Chase Utley. The best part about going to games is when the Phillies win, he said.

When he grows up, he either wants to be a Phillies player or a veterinarian.

Jon's advice for other kids who want to be as awesome as he is?

"Be who you are," Jon said. "Don't be something for somebody else."