A budding young novelist wanted more people to read his handwritten comic book and decided to deposit the one and only copy of "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" at a community library in Idaho.
Dillon Helbig, 8, thought of sneaking his handwritten comic book on one of the shelves during his visit to the Ada Community Library with his grandmother. He detailed to KTVB how he carefully placed his precious creation on the shelves despite the presence of "a lot of the librarians."
Days later, the 8-year-old said he looked for the book after confessing to his mother, Susan Helbig, that he tried to pass it off as an actual book. Later at home, the mother phoned the library to explain that someone might have taken the boy's red notebook filled with stories. She was also hoping that they did not throw it away.
What Was "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" About?
"The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" is an 81-page comic book about the author who was transported into another time and place when the Christmas tree he was decorating exploded. A portal took him to the very first Thanksgiving in the North Pole.
Library manager Alex Hartman spoke with the boy's mother and confessed that he and his colleagues did find the book on the shelf and said that it was "one of the funniest books" he has read. Hartman also told Susan that his 6-year-old son enjoyed Dillon's book as well. After reading and loving it, his staff decided to put it in the stories section, among the other young adult and children's stories.
In an interview with The Guardian, Hartman said that they asked Dillon and his mom permission to add his comic book to the library's catalog and place an official library sticker on it. He said that "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" fitted the criteria of books they wanted for their collection.
As of late January 2022, Dillon's book has a two-year waiting list consisting of 55 people who are looking forward to borrowing the precious copy.
The "Ultimate Goal" Since He Was 5 Years Old
The library also shared Dillon's profile on their Facebook page. The boy had the "ultimate goal" of publishing his own book when he was just five years old.
In an interview with "Good Morning America," Dillon said that he has always loved books and has been going to libraries since he was a baby.
Ada Community Library has given Dillon a Whoodini Award for Best Young Novelist; a unique award created just for him. They are currently discussing with the family to create a digital version of "The Adventures of Dillon Helbig's Crismis" to reach more people and inspire other kids to create stories.
Meanwhile, Dillon is already working on his next comic book, "The Jacket Eating Closet," based on a true story he started writing in kindergarten. He's also planning his "Dog Man" series.
