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Although she says she doesn’t take beauty pageants seriously, things are going well for 8-year-old Malia Johnson in the preteen world of glamour.

Malia Johnson isn’t your typical beauty queen.

She crinkles her nose at frills and makeup and couldn’t care less about those big televised beauty pageants. Although the 8-year-old has competed against hundreds of others throughout several local and national pageants, it’s not about competition for her. She’ll tell you she has 36 trophies, yet she pays no attention to what place they represent.

Malia thinks the pageants are fun, and at least one detail serves as her motivation.

“I get to go to Disneyland!” she shouted earlier this week.

The way Malia worked her bright smile, black curly hair and creamy milk chocolate skin last weekend earned her and her family a trip to California.

She placed third in her age group’s photogenic category last weekend at Missouri’s National American Miss pageant in St. Louis, qualifying her for the national pageant in Anaheim, Calif. The St. Louis pageant, with 67 girls in her age group, was her biggest pageant yet.

She’s won categories at pageants but hasn’t earned an overall first place. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that the pageants are a blast for Malia and her family.

“I like to go because I get to dress up and stay at hotels,” Malia said.

Her mother, a Terrible’s Casino slot machine worker, doesn’t fit the pageant mold, either.

The pageant hobby started two years ago. Malia’s mom, Audra Morehead, had a friend whose granddaughter was in pageants. The friend thought Malia’s natural beauty and talent — gymnastics and dance — could take her far in the pageant world. And so it began.

Malia’s determination stands out, said Darcee Blanchard, owner of Darcee’s School of Dance.

When Malia was practicing for a regional mat routine competition, she didn’t just go through the motions during practice and leave. Time after time, she stayed late.

“She was bound and determined it was gonna be perfect,” Ms. Blanchard said.

Malia placed second in that competition.

Confidence and public speaking skills — those are the big pageant benefits for Malia, her mother said.

Malia makes the call on whether to enter a pageant.

“It’s always up to her,” Ms. Morehead stressed.

Ms. Morehead makes sure her daughter doesn’t get caught up in the superficial.

“There are two groups at these pageants — the ‘normal’ moms and girls and then the ‘pageant’ moms and girls,” Ms. Morehead said.

In the “pageant” group, the little girls have fake hair, fake teeth, makeup and hit the spray tan booths.

“There are girls that look scary,” Malia said.

The most outrageous story came at a pageant in the Kansas City area.

“This girl was wearing fake teeth, and her teeth fell out while she was singing. And she ran off the stage crying,” Malia said.

Needless to say, Malia and her mom are in the “normal” group.

Tap dancing fills Malia’s talent competition performances. Those typically cheering her on include her mom, 10-year-old brother, Mikhlyn Johnson, uncle Jordan Morehead and relatives of her father, Sekou Johnson.

Malia, who will soon enter second grade at St. Joseph’s Edison Elementary School, prepared an introduction speech for the St. Louis pageant.

“I’m Malia Johnson, and I’m from where the Pony Express began and Jesse James ended,” she was going to say.

But she got nervous.

Instead, she said, “I’m Malia Johnson, and my ambition is to help people and animals.”

Four occupations are in the running for her future career: teacher, doctor, veterinarian and what she calls “beautyist.”

For now, she’s looking toward the California pageant trip in November.

Maybe, just maybe, she’ll see Hannah Montana there, she said.

Nancy Hull can be reached

at nancyhull@npgco.com