In Season 23, called “The Secret Believer,” a new library book of mysterious origin attracts much attention. It’s handmade, and it just appeared one day on the shelves. Here’s a fun fact: our story was based on a TRUE story! The real-life book was written by an eight-year-old boy named Dillon Helbig from Idaho. He wrote and illustrated his 81-page story in a red notebook in just four days!
The book, The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis, was authored by “Dillon His Self,” as we read on the cover. In “The Secret Believer,” the book The Adventures of Crismis was authored by “H.G. Scribner,” where the “H.G.” stands for Hugo Garcia, and “Scribner” means scribe, or writer.
Dillion and Hugo are about the same age, and they appear to be equally crafty. Dillon was just eight years old when he crafted his own book. He then slipped it onto the shelves at his local library, right alongside the “regular” books. When Dillon’s book was discovered, the library staff read and loved it. They agreed to accept Dillon’s book into their collection. The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis is full of wonderful illustrations, so the librarians catalogued it as a graphic novel. Dillon’s book is full of adventure, including time travel back to the first Thanksgiving, and an exploding Christmas tree star!
The popularity of Dillon’s book soared and soon had a waiting list of over 100 people wishing to read it! That sounds a lot like how Hugo’s book was received, doesn’t it? Hugo’s book ended up being published, but so far we haven’t heard if Dillon has been as fortunate. Dillon’s creativity has inspired kids all over—perhaps including you—to write and share their talents.
Learn more about Dillon’s story in the video below. And keep scrolling to tell us what YOU think about Hugo and Dillon’s books.
