Credit: Ada Community Library | Photo credit: Facebook
Highlights
- Dillon Helbig wrote an 81-page graphic novel and secretly placed it in the children’s section of his local library
- The book has now become a huge success with a waiting list of several years. He even won an award
- The book is a hardcover journal that chronicles a Christmas adventure
This is a heartwarming story that will take you right back to your school draft or doodling book.
It’s never easy to write a book. Ask any author and they’ll agree. What’s even harder is finding fame and recognition for your writing.
Many people write volumes of books that go unnoticed to collect dust in homes or in sections of bookstores that are hardly ever visited.
While many aspiring and even seasoned writers around the world only dream of hitting popular library shelves, an 8-year-old American boy has risen to fame for his handwritten graphic novel that wasn’t even supposed to be in a library.
Dillon Helbig wrote an 81-page graphic novel titled “The Adventures of Cirsmis by Dillon Helbig” and secretly smuggled it into a local library without permission.
The book is a hardcover journal with colored pencil drawings that was completed in a matter of days. But it has a tag on the back that says “Made in Idaho.”
After finding an unauthorized place in the children’s section of the Boise library, the book became a huge hit with a years-long waiting list for readers.
The book is actually a diary that tells a Christmas adventure. Since he wanted others to read it, he put it on one of the shelves during a visit to the library with his grandmother.
Two days later, when Dillon returned to the library with his mother, the book was missing. It was reported that Dillon’s family called the library and urged them not to throw him out.
But the book hadn’t really disappeared. It had been distributed to readers after becoming a huge hit.
The Lake Hazel branch of the Ada Community Library recounted the incident on its Facebook page along with photos from the book.
“Dillon’s book is an impressive 88 pages, with full-color illustrations and even a library label on the back, which came in handy when we located it for his mum to come and ‘check out,'” it read. in the message.
The post went on to inform that the book won the 2021 Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist, adding that Dillon graciously donated the first edition to the library.
“It was a sneaky act. But the book was all too obviously a special item for us to consider getting rid of,” said library branch manager Alex Hartman. The Washington Post.
