Once Dillon Helbig, a second-grader from Idaho, finished writing a Christmas adventure story with colored pencil illustrations on the pages of a notebook in mid-December, he came up with a plan to get the book on shelves.
The 8-year-old visited Ada Community Library’s Lake Hazel Branch in Boise with his grandmother a few days later, and executed his mission. He snuck the 81-page book past librarians and placed it on a shelf with other children's picture books.
No one caught him in the act, not even his grandmother.
“It was naughty-ish,” Dillon Helbig said. But added that the result has been "pretty cool."
The book is titled “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis,” and is signed “by Dillon His Self,” according to The Washington Post.
He eventually told his mother, Susan Helbig, that he got away with leaving the book on the shelves. When they went to the library about two days later, the book was no longer there. Helbig then called the library to ask if anyone had found Dillon's notebook and to not throw it out.
Luckily, branch manager Alex Hartman knew that throwing out the 8-year-old's work would be a mistake.
“It was a sneaky act,” Hartman said. “ [The book] was far too obviously special an item for us to consider getting rid of it.”
Hartman and a handful of other co-workers found and read “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis.” The story "describes his adventures putting an exploding star on his Christmas tree and being catapulted back to the first Thanksgiving and the North Pole."
Hartman and the others found it so entertaining that he brought it home and read it to his 6-year-old son, Cruzen. It received more praise, as Cruzen said it was one of the funniest books he knows.
“Dillon is a confident guy and a generous guy. He wanted to share the story,” Hartman said. “I don’t think it’s a self-promotion thing. He just genuinely wanted other people to be able to enjoy his story. … He’s been a lifelong library user, so he knows how books are shared.”
The library's staff who read Dillon's book said it met the criteria for the collection because it was a "high-quality story that was fun to read," despite it being informal and out of the ordinary. Hartman asked his parents for permission to add a bar code to the book and formally add it to the library. Naturally, his parents were excited to say yes.
The book is now part of the graphic-novels section for kids, teens and adults. Dillon earned the library's first ever Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist. They created the category specifically for him, and named it after the library's owl mascot.
“His imagination is just constantly going, and he is a very creative little boy,” said Susan Helbig, 41, adding that he often entertains her and her husband, Alex Helbig. “He just comes up with these amazing stories and adventures, and we just kind of follow along.”
The one-of-a-kind book now has a long wait list to check it out. KTVB, a news station in Boise, said as of Saturday there was a 55-person waitlist, as people have been adding their names to it for about a month. Library patrons are allowed to hold onto books for up to four weeks, and renewals won't be allowed due to the waitlist.
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“We hope that our borrowers keep in mind other people who would like to get their hands on the book,” said Hartman. He added that someone from as far as Texas asked to get the book loaned to them, but was denied.
Hartman and Susan Helbig are currently discussing a plan to try and create an e-book of “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis” for more people to access. Local children’s writer, Cristianne Lane, has even offered to lead a writing workshop with Dillon at the library, according to Hartman.
“We’re just hoping that … children find inspiration to write their own stories and share those with other people,” Hartman said. “I just think it’s a good demonstration to share with other kids.”
Susan Helbig said her son could grow up to become a writer. While Hartman sees another career path that the second-grader could take.
“I also kind of think that he might become a librarian,” Hartman said. “We in libraries love stories and love to share them.”
Dillon is currently working on a sequel and is also working on a different book about a closet that eats up jackets. He has begun to inspire his classmates to write, and even heard from a cafeteria worker that they're excited to read his future work.
“It’s pretty neat to see how he’s inspiring little minds,” Susan Helbig said.
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