This 2nd-grader secretly slipped his own picture book onto a library shelf, now it has a years-long waitlist

Dillon Helbig, an eight year old boy from Boise Idaho, proved that it is possible to do anything he sets out to.

The five-year-old had always wanted to read a book in the library since he was five. And after taking matters into his own hands, that dream finally became a reality—he now has his own picture book registered in the library!

It all started when Dillon’s grandmother gave him a blank red journal. The child spent four days drawing and writing in the journal.

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A few days later, in December of last year, he visited the Ada Community Library’s Lake Hazel Branch with his grandma. There, he waited took the chance to stealthily slip his 81-page comic book onto one of the shelves in the children’s picture-book section.

“I always be (sic) sneaky, like how I get chocolate,” he told KTVB7.

Dillon later confessed what he did to his family. He returned to the library several days later to discover that his picture book was gone from where he left.

The cover of "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis"
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Susan Helbig, Dillon’s mother, called the library to ask if they had found her son’s book, titled “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis” by “Dillon His Self.”

Alex Hartman, the Lake Hazel Library branch manager, said that Dillon’s parents were worried they had found the book and gotten rid of it.

“Which was an unfounded fear because if there’s ever a place a book would be safe, it would be here,” he said.

As any librarian would be, Alex was surprised with Dillon’s bold move.

“It was a sneaky act,” he said. But the lad’s book “was far too obviously special an item for us to consider getting rid of it,” he added.

The first page of "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis"
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Hartman and a few of his coworkers had read Dillon’s fictional book. It’s about him decorating a tree when the star on top suddenly explodes.

“I think someone overnight put a bomb in there and it just exploded,” he said.

The explosion traps him in a portal that takes him back to the first Thanksgiving at the North Pole.

“Everything about it was a bit crazy,” he shared.

The librarians found “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis” extremely entertaining, saying it’s a high-quality story and a fun read.

Dillon Helbig, the author of "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis"
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Hartman read the book aloud to Cruzen, a six-year-old boy. Cruzen laughed and declared that it was one the most funny books he had ever seen.

“Dillon is a confident guy and a generous guy. He wanted to share his story. 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,” Alex said.

When the branch manager asked if he could tack a bar code onto the book to formally add it to the library’s collection, Dillon answered with a resounding yes.

Now, the boy’s book is part of the graphic novels section for kids, teens, and adults. It has even earned its author the “Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist,” a category named after the library’s owl mascot and created for Dillon.

"The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" with "The Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist" badge
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“His imagination is just constantly going, and he is a very creative little boy,” Susan described her son. She also revealed that the kid often entertains her and her husband, Alex Helbig, by coming up with these “amazing stories and adventures.”

Since becoming a full-fledged library book, “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis” has become an instant sensation. In fact, there’s an 88-person waitlist for it!

Although it won’t take too long to read the book, borrowers can keep the books for up to four weeks. And considering the years-long waitlist, the library doesn’t allow renewals for this one.

Fans would be delighted to know that Dillon is currently working to create a sequel to the book. Dillon is also working to write a story about a closet that stores jackets.

In the video below, the budding author adorably recounts the story of how his book ended in the library.

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