9 ms·

An 8-year-old slid his handwritten book onto a library shelf

342 points by TruffleLabs 5y ago

Waterluvian 5y ago
I would love it if my local library had a section dedicated to local amateur authors. I want my boys to see that being an author is not some huge gap. You don’t need a fancy book making machine or publisher. Just write and share.
- quickthrower2 5y ago
  Just write in notepad.exe and share on IPFS (it is very easy, much easier than other ways of publishing on the web) then share that link online.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
IncRnd 5y ago
What a nice story! When they create an ebook, be prepared for the next HN story to discuss Dillon's book being the most pirated pdf worldwide.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
tacLog 5y ago
This reminds me of how instrumental just going to the library was as a kid for my love of reading. It was the only place that was like a store to me at the time where I could have anything I wanted. It felt like a fun challenge to find as many books that I might want to read as possible. I wonder how we can create this experience more easily remotely. There are tons of library eBook apps that are all pretty awesome, but discovery of new content just isn't the same. I find myself going to the library still. Or even to book stores to write down interesting looking titles. I know this seems like a boring problem because you can just go in person then put a hold on the eBook version while you are there. But there has to be a way to present a curated selection of books that inspires children to: - enjoy the adventure of finding a good book - fosters the idea that reading unlocks knowledge or stories about anything they want - makes the process of sampling a book as easy as it is on Amazon, or in person Why? When schools are remote, or to serve children that don't have a local anything nearby. Does anyone know of services that provide this now or have any ideas for how this would best work as an enhanced UI over say Libby or overdrive, or even hoopla all of which are great for if you already know what you want to read.
- myself248 5y ago
  Take the kid to a physical library a few times. I think the visceral experience of the vastness really has to be experienced by our spatial-relation lizard-brains. Explain the "anything you want, but only a few at a time" concept. Nurture the kid-in-a-candy-store wonder. Then take them to the most impressive library you can feasibly drive to. Universities spring to mind. Let that awe really sink in. See if you can get a librarian to talk to the kid for a few minutes about why _they_ personally think this is important. THEN introduce ebooks, gutenberg, archive.org, apps, etc. All that and then some, right here in the palm of your hand.
  - tacLog 5y ago
    I think you are highlighting great ways to impress upon a kid the: "visceral experience of the vastness." Which is the core of what I want. That's a really good way to put it by the way. I really like the idea of taking kids to really impressive libraries as well. My parents did that for me and it really did create lasting memories. But I am more thinking of something that can emulate that experience remotely. Your focus on the space made me thing of maybe a library on Minecraft or Roblox? Maybe it can be a space where you can somehow see the books in a virtual space and design something that allows you to explore the collections. I know this would be really hard in Minecraft and I don't know how hard this would be in roblox. But I really like this idea because it would be easy to create, easier to maintain, and be a really cool thing that a teacher could say take a class trip to. It would be important that you where presented with a way to checkout the books you found in this virtual library from a real library near you that has ebooks for children. This would also allow you to checkout the public works books from the awesome sites you referenced instantly.
    - indigochill 5y ago
      Maybe something like this (aimed more at journalism, but the virtual space is still impressive): https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21184041/minecraft-library-censored-journalism-reporters-without-borders https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21184041/minecraft-librar...
rambambram 5y ago
Haha, so cool! If 6 year olds like it and there's already a waiting list, he might even sell the story to Hollywood. ;)
- onemoresoop 5y ago
  I really hope it doesn't get to money making but instead it starts a new trend where kids make their own books and share them at the library, a new special section. Let's leave money outta this..
  - susiecambria 5y ago
    I seem to recall that Dillon's parents are taking the process slowly of creating an ebook, etc. My takeaway is that they want their child to not be overwhelmed/overtaken by the interest in him and his work (does this make sense?).
  - rambambram 5y ago
    I knew this kind of remark was coming, hence the smiley. ;)
steveylang 5y ago
They should digitize it and put the ebook up on Amazon.
- selcuka 5y ago
  From the article: > Hartman is talking with Dillon’s mom about possibly creating an e-book version of “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis” to share.
jimnotgym 5y ago
My son used to put his books on our shelves. Imagine if I had encouraged him rather than working silly hours for some future that never arrived
- balls187 5y ago
  Chris Rock said it best--Nobody ever says, 'Hey daddy, thanks for knockin' out this rent.' 'Hey daddy, I sure love this hot water.' 'Hey daddy, it's easy to read with all this light.'
  - triceratops 5y ago
    Kids shouldn't have to thank their parents for the basics. That's what we commit to when we bring them into this world (or adopt them). To use another Chris Rock phrase - "You want credit for some s*** you're supposed to do?!"
    - touristtam 5y ago
      Yes buy the same token we should teach our kids that getting decked out from top to toe in branded apparels isn't normal or given. Nor is having an iPhone for that matter.
      - siva7 5y ago
        It is normal if most kids have it. Not sure what you’re trying to teach them.
        balls187 5y ago
        Teaching them the value of a dollar.
        vmception 5y ago
        Why? You either have it or you don't. Teach them to be relatable, the answer to “the price of a gallon of milk” or what most people earn a year, to pretend like “they got a deal on rent” when around their struggling friends. But there is literally no need to waste your time in that rat race out of pride, only out of necessity. Its just not worth it from a time and lifestyle perspective.
geocrasher 5y ago
Self publishing at its finest. What a great story!
schoen 5y ago
My elementary school had a unit (I think in third or fourth grade) where each student made and illustrated a book, which was then bound by the librarians and temporarily added to the school library's collection, on a special shelf (for books by current students). Other students could check it out during the school year, and I think there was even an assignment where you were expected to check out one other student's book and give some kind of report or presentation about it! At the end of the year, you got your own book back to keep. This was a really great school project.
- ericmcer 5y ago
  This is great, they should have more projects in school that allow kids a chance to move from being passive participants in the system to being contributors to it. I think this is a huge mental barrier that gets reinforced in schools rather than broken.
- Guest42 5y ago
  Reminds me a little bit of a mobile development class where the teacher had everyone post an app on the play store. A few of them were pretty good.
  - gowld 5y ago
    should have done that in iOS and watch them all get rejected.
- jhbadger 5y ago
  My school has a similar custom. Only the students are older (typically in their 20s) and the books are called "dissertations". Oddly, despite being in the library, and the students spending a long time writing them (often years), few people want to read the books.
  - Fomite 5y ago
    On the other hand, to those who did need them, they were potentially invaluable.
incomplete 5y ago
paywall free: https://archive.is/nyf78 https://archive.is/nyf78
chadd 5y ago
This is why I've supported 826LA (and the other 826 chapters), started by the author Dave Eggers. Among the reading and writing, tutoring and college essay writing programs they sponsor, mostly focused on kids who are in homes where English is a second language, they also help kids publish their own book. You would be shocked to see how proud the kids are when they have their very own words, in print - it's whimsical and inspiring that they can accomplish anything.
kbelder 5y ago
My son did this to a book he wrote. Something about a moose... He slid it onto the shelf at the school library, and found a year later that some employee had put on a library sticker and a checkout card. A couple people checked it out; it was still on the shelf a few years later.
dhosek 5y ago
My kids's school has creating a book a part of the curriculum every year beginning in kindergarten. My son who's amazingingly prolific did two books last year (he was in first grade). There was one day when he was in kindergarten that we were both writing at the same time. I managed to get a couple hundred words written on my novel in progress. He knocked out a 750-word story (dictated to his mother) that was damned amazing.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
lifeisstillgood 5y ago
I am in the process of editing a book each my kids are writing (boy! chasing authors for deadlines is a thankless task). The idea is to self-publish on Amazon later on. This is probably the best thing I have read about all week. Fantastic.
badwolf 5y ago
Librarians are some of the most outstanding folks we have. This is such an adorable story.
magicjosh 5y ago
Is anyone working on a VR-based library simulator? Sounds so cool to browse the Project Gutenberg library in VR. You could slip in fun additions like this as easter eggs.
gnicholas 5y ago
There's a nonprofit edtech startup called Story Shares [1] that gives students the chance to publish their stories for other kids to read. They just wrapped up an open call a few days ago, and the top stories will be put into their catalog. 1: https://www.storyshares.org/ https://www.storyshares.org/
LennyHenrysNuts 5y ago
I love this. What a fantastic story, and what a wonderful kid.
unobatbayar 5y ago
It's Banksy Jr.
chasil 5y ago
“I also kind of think that he might become a librarian,” Hartman added. “We in libraries love stories and love to share them.” I'm hoping the kid figures out ZIP files, HTML, and PNGs so he can compose an epub for wider distribution.
gjs278 5y ago

342 points by TruffleLabs 5y ago

I would love it if my local library had a section dedicated to local amateur authors. I want my boys to see that being an author is not some huge gap. You don’t need a fancy book making machine or publisher. Just write and share.

quickthrower2 5y ago
Just write in notepad.exe and share on IPFS (it is very easy, much easier than other ways of publishing on the web) then share that link online.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

IncRnd 5y ago

What a nice story! When they create an ebook, be prepared for the next HN story to discuss Dillon's book being the most pirated pdf worldwide.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

tacLog 5y ago

This reminds me of how instrumental just going to the library was as a kid for my love of reading. It was the only place that was like a store to me at the time where I could have anything I wanted. It felt like a fun challenge to find as many books that I might want to read as possible. I wonder how we can create this experience more easily remotely. There are tons of library eBook apps that are all pretty awesome, but discovery of new content just isn't the same. I find myself going to the library still. Or even to book stores to write down interesting looking titles. I know this seems like a boring problem because you can just go in person then put a hold on the eBook version while you are there. But there has to be a way to present a curated selection of books that inspires children to: - enjoy the adventure of finding a good book - fosters the idea that reading unlocks knowledge or stories about anything they want - makes the process of sampling a book as easy as it is on Amazon, or in person Why? When schools are remote, or to serve children that don't have a local anything nearby. Does anyone know of services that provide this now or have any ideas for how this would best work as an enhanced UI over say Libby or overdrive, or even hoopla all of which are great for if you already know what you want to read.

myself248 5y ago
Take the kid to a physical library a few times. I think the visceral experience of the vastness really has to be experienced by our spatial-relation lizard-brains. Explain the "anything you want, but only a few at a time" concept. Nurture the kid-in-a-candy-store wonder. Then take them to the most impressive library you can feasibly drive to. Universities spring to mind. Let that awe really sink in. See if you can get a librarian to talk to the kid for a few minutes about why _they_ personally think this is important. THEN introduce ebooks, gutenberg, archive.org, apps, etc. All that and then some, right here in the palm of your hand.
- tacLog 5y ago
  I think you are highlighting great ways to impress upon a kid the: "visceral experience of the vastness." Which is the core of what I want. That's a really good way to put it by the way. I really like the idea of taking kids to really impressive libraries as well. My parents did that for me and it really did create lasting memories. But I am more thinking of something that can emulate that experience remotely. Your focus on the space made me thing of maybe a library on Minecraft or Roblox? Maybe it can be a space where you can somehow see the books in a virtual space and design something that allows you to explore the collections. I know this would be really hard in Minecraft and I don't know how hard this would be in roblox. But I really like this idea because it would be easy to create, easier to maintain, and be a really cool thing that a teacher could say take a class trip to. It would be important that you where presented with a way to checkout the books you found in this virtual library from a real library near you that has ebooks for children. This would also allow you to checkout the public works books from the awesome sites you referenced instantly.
  - indigochill 5y ago
    Maybe something like this (aimed more at journalism, but the virtual space is still impressive): https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21184041/minecraft-library-censored-journalism-reporters-without-borders https://www.theverge.com/2020/3/18/21184041/minecraft-librar...

rambambram 5y ago

Haha, so cool! If 6 year olds like it and there's already a waiting list, he might even sell the story to Hollywood. ;)

onemoresoop 5y ago
I really hope it doesn't get to money making but instead it starts a new trend where kids make their own books and share them at the library, a new special section. Let's leave money outta this..
- susiecambria 5y ago
  I seem to recall that Dillon's parents are taking the process slowly of creating an ebook, etc. My takeaway is that they want their child to not be overwhelmed/overtaken by the interest in him and his work (does this make sense?).
- rambambram 5y ago
  I knew this kind of remark was coming, hence the smiley. ;)

steveylang 5y ago

They should digitize it and put the ebook up on Amazon.

selcuka 5y ago
From the article: > Hartman is talking with Dillon’s mom about possibly creating an e-book version of “The Adventures of Dillon Helbig’s Crismis” to share.

jimnotgym 5y ago

My son used to put his books on our shelves. Imagine if I had encouraged him rather than working silly hours for some future that never arrived

balls187 5y ago
Chris Rock said it best--Nobody ever says, 'Hey daddy, thanks for knockin' out this rent.' 'Hey daddy, I sure love this hot water.' 'Hey daddy, it's easy to read with all this light.'
- triceratops 5y ago
  Kids shouldn't have to thank their parents for the basics. That's what we commit to when we bring them into this world (or adopt them). To use another Chris Rock phrase - "You want credit for some s*** you're supposed to do?!"
  - touristtam 5y ago
    Yes buy the same token we should teach our kids that getting decked out from top to toe in branded apparels isn't normal or given. Nor is having an iPhone for that matter.
    - siva7 5y ago
      It is normal if most kids have it. Not sure what you’re trying to teach them.
      - balls187 5y ago
        Teaching them the value of a dollar.
        vmception 5y ago
        Why? You either have it or you don't. Teach them to be relatable, the answer to “the price of a gallon of milk” or what most people earn a year, to pretend like “they got a deal on rent” when around their struggling friends. But there is literally no need to waste your time in that rat race out of pride, only out of necessity. Its just not worth it from a time and lifestyle perspective.

geocrasher 5y ago

Self publishing at its finest. What a great story!

schoen 5y ago

My elementary school had a unit (I think in third or fourth grade) where each student made and illustrated a book, which was then bound by the librarians and temporarily added to the school library's collection, on a special shelf (for books by current students). Other students could check it out during the school year, and I think there was even an assignment where you were expected to check out one other student's book and give some kind of report or presentation about it! At the end of the year, you got your own book back to keep. This was a really great school project.

ericmcer 5y ago
This is great, they should have more projects in school that allow kids a chance to move from being passive participants in the system to being contributors to it. I think this is a huge mental barrier that gets reinforced in schools rather than broken.
Guest42 5y ago
Reminds me a little bit of a mobile development class where the teacher had everyone post an app on the play store. A few of them were pretty good.
- gowld 5y ago
  should have done that in iOS and watch them all get rejected.
jhbadger 5y ago
My school has a similar custom. Only the students are older (typically in their 20s) and the books are called "dissertations". Oddly, despite being in the library, and the students spending a long time writing them (often years), few people want to read the books.
- Fomite 5y ago
  On the other hand, to those who did need them, they were potentially invaluable.

incomplete 5y ago

paywall free: https://archive.is/nyf78 https://archive.is/nyf78

chadd 5y ago

This is why I've supported 826LA (and the other 826 chapters), started by the author Dave Eggers. Among the reading and writing, tutoring and college essay writing programs they sponsor, mostly focused on kids who are in homes where English is a second language, they also help kids publish their own book. You would be shocked to see how proud the kids are when they have their very own words, in print - it's whimsical and inspiring that they can accomplish anything.

kbelder 5y ago

My son did this to a book he wrote. Something about a moose... He slid it onto the shelf at the school library, and found a year later that some employee had put on a library sticker and a checkout card. A couple people checked it out; it was still on the shelf a few years later.

dhosek 5y ago

My kids's school has creating a book a part of the curriculum every year beginning in kindergarten. My son who's amazingingly prolific did two books last year (he was in first grade). There was one day when he was in kindergarten that we were both writing at the same time. I managed to get a couple hundred words written on my novel in progress. He knocked out a 750-word story (dictated to his mother) that was damned amazing.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

lifeisstillgood 5y ago

I am in the process of editing a book each my kids are writing (boy! chasing authors for deadlines is a thankless task). The idea is to self-publish on Amazon later on. This is probably the best thing I have read about all week. Fantastic.

badwolf 5y ago

Librarians are some of the most outstanding folks we have. This is such an adorable story.

magicjosh 5y ago

Is anyone working on a VR-based library simulator? Sounds so cool to browse the Project Gutenberg library in VR. You could slip in fun additions like this as easter eggs.

gnicholas 5y ago

There's a nonprofit edtech startup called Story Shares [1] that gives students the chance to publish their stories for other kids to read. They just wrapped up an open call a few days ago, and the top stories will be put into their catalog. 1: https://www.storyshares.org/ https://www.storyshares.org/

LennyHenrysNuts 5y ago

I love this. What a fantastic story, and what a wonderful kid.

unobatbayar 5y ago

It's Banksy Jr.

chasil 5y ago

“I also kind of think that he might become a librarian,” Hartman added. “We in libraries love stories and love to share them.” I'm hoping the kid figures out ZIP files, HTML, and PNGs so he can compose an epub for wider distribution.

gjs278 5y ago