BOISE, Idaho — This is quite a story. And it was written by an 8-year-old.
Dillon Helbig is a second-grader in Boise, Idaho, who wrote a book during Christmas break that he wanted to share with the public. So, after taking four days to write and illustrate 81 pages of an empty journal, he went with his grandmother to the Ada Community Library’s Lake Hazel Branch in Boise with his grandmother, The Washington Post reported.
Holding the book close to his chest, Dillon slipped the book onto a children’s picture-book shelf, according to the newspaper.
“I always be sneaky, like how I get chocolate,” the boy told KTVB-TV. “There was a lot of librarians that I had to sneak past.”
Even Dillon’s grandmother was unaware.
Now, “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis,” by “Dillon Helbig His Self,” is the hottest book around. Alex Hartman, the manager of the library branch, told The New York Times that by the end of January that 56 people were on the waiting list to check it out. This week, that number had swelled to 88, according to KTVB.
According to one of the librarians, inquiries for Dillon’s book have come from as far away as The Netherlands and Bangladesh, the Idaho Press reported.
Dillon’s first book -- he’s working on another one, by the way -- is about Dillon, who is decorating a Christmas tree when the star on top of it explodes, KTVB reported.
“I think someone overnight put a bomb in there and it just exploded,” the boy told the television station.
Dillon then gets sucked into a portal and is transported back in time to the first Thanksgiving.
“Everything about it was a bit crazy,” Dillon told KTVB.
The boy later confessed about his surreptitious act to his mother, and two days later they returned to the library, the Post reported. But the book was gone. Susan Helbig asked the librarians if the book had been found and if so, not to throw it away.
“His parents were worried we would find his book and we would get rid of it,” Hartman told KTVB. “Which was an unfounded fear because if there’s ever a place a book would be safe, it would be here.”
The librarians, charmed by the book, entered it in their catalog system, the Times reported. They moved it out of children’s fiction and placed it among graphic novels due to its many page-length drawings.
“It deserves a spot on our library shelves,” Hartman told the newspaper on Monday. “It’s a good story.”
Publishers have contacted the library about officially publishing the book, Hartman told the Times, adding that the librarians are planning to make extra copies.
“We hope that others kids are inspired by Dillon to share their stories,” Hartman told the newspaper.
As for that second book, Dillon said he is working on a storyline that involves a “jacket-eating closet,” “Today” reported.
The boy’s parents are proud of their young author.
“He just wanted to get the book in the library and have some kids read it,” Alex Helbig told “Today.” “The fact that it’s being covered all over the world as news is just amazing.”