This second grader became a little star author in his home country!
Dillon Helbig (8) caused quite a stir in a library in the city of Boise (US state Idaho): He wrote a Christmas adventure in his notebook and then illustrated it with colored pencils.
When the little book author finished his work in mid-December, he really wanted to share it with other people, reports the Washington Post.
Dillon came up with an ingenious plan: when he visited the library in Boise with his grandmother a few days later, he smuggled the book past the staff – and pushed it onto a children’s picture book shelf.
His grandma didn’t notice anything, nobody saw him doing it. Dillon later confessed to his mother, Susan Helbig. Two days later they went back to the library, but the book was gone.
The mother asked the library manager if anyone had found her son’s book – and asked them not to throw it away. And yes, of course, the foreign work was discovered. But library manager Alex Hartman exulted: Dillon’s book “was far too special an item for us to consider getting rid of.”
He and a few colleagues had now read the 81-page book. It details Dillon’s adventure of attaching an exploding star to his Christmas tree and being catapulted back to the first Thanksgiving and the North Pole.
He wanted to share his story with others
The conclusion of the book pros: very entertaining! Library boss Hartman even read it to his son (6). He giggled and said it was one of the funniest books he’d ever read.
Hartman about the small successful author: “He just wanted other people to be able to enjoy his story.”
The library manager then asked Dillon and his mom for permission to barcode the book — and add it to the library’s official inventory.
In the meantime, “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Christmas” is said to have become a popular book locally. It may even be duplicated as an e-book. Dillon also received the Whoodini Prize (named after the library’s mascot) from the library – created especially for the little adventure writer.
Dillon said of his secret book-hide: “It was naughty.” But the result was “pretty cool”.