Eight-year-old Dillon Helbig’s comic book is an instant hit among readers. This creative young boy sneaked it on a library shelf, unaware that it would become his biggest breakthrough. The queue is so long that it will take years for the last person on the current list to get hold of it.
Dillon Helbig, a second-grader from Idaho, wrote the book, “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis.” He has been writing comic-style books since he was five years old. Thankfully, after three long years, his hard work paid off. During his Christmas break, this smart boy from Boise, Idaho, wrote this book and wanted everyone to read it. He spent four days finishing his 81-page book complete with illustrations. That’s a big feat for a second grader!
His imagination went wild and parts of the story happened in the year 1960–long before he was born. The story revolved around the protagonist and his time travel adventures that began after the star on a Christmas tree exploded. It was also very raw, it still has spelling and grammar errors. But I think those made his work extra charming! For instance, in “Chaptr 1,” he wrote, “ONe Day in wintr it wus Crismis!”
Dillon’s unbelievable adventure started when he and his grandma went to the Lake Hazel branch of the Ada Community Library in Boise. He went to proceed with his plan by sneaking in his book on the shelf for Children’s Fiction books. He was particularly careful not to be seen by anyone. “I had to sneak past the librarians,” Dillon told The New York Times, who says “li-berry” instead of “library.”
But, he knew that he had to come clean with his parents. Hours later, he told them about what he did. Susan Helbig, his mom, called the library so that they could pick the book up from the lost and found. However, the librarians were delighted with Dillon and his work. What they did next came as a surprise. “It deserves a spot on our library shelves,” Mr. Hartman, the library manager, told The New York Times. “It’s a good story.” They entered it into the catalog system and moved it to the graphic novels section because it has a lot of page-length illustrations. Susan said that “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis” is his biggest breakthrough.
He was awarded the first-ever “Whoodini Award” as the “Best Young Novelist.” The staff from the library specifically created this award for this young genius.
As of now, many are in queue wanting to get hold of his book. 56 people are waiting to read his work. Each borrower has four weeks to read it, which means that it will take years for the last person on the list to get hold of it.
But wait there’s more! The Idaho Press and KTVB reported Dillon’s story recently and it certainly attracted attention. Publishers expressed their interest to publish his book. “We hope that others kids are inspired by Dillon to share their stories,” Mr. Hartman said. Other kids in his school were also inspired by this boy’s creativity and love for writing books. “They said, ‘It was really cool; I wish I was you,'” Dillon said.
Dillon is not just a writer, he is now a mentor. A local author, Cristianne Lane, offered to work with him on a Children’s writing workshop at the branch. Guess this boy will certainly go to places. The doors of opportunities that have opened for him are equally borderless like his imagination. Meanwhile, his second book, “The Jacket-Eating Closet,” based on real-life events, will be released next.
Dillon has a lot of plans up his sleeves. He said, “I’m going to stop writing when I’m 40.” And then what? “I’m going to make games,” he said with conviction. We might just have the next J.K. Rowling and Nintendo executive in the making.
May we be the first to encourage kids to pursue their dreams. May we be keen to see their potential and not just their flaws. Let’s give them avenues to explore, dream, and be the great men and women God intended them to be.
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