Library Book Find Turns Out

More Than A Good Read

By Eliza Hallabeck

A few weeks ago, Newtown High School student Nick Shannon checked out Christopher Paolini’s Inheritance, the fourth and final book in the Inheritance cycle by the author, from the C.H. Booth Library.

The next day he found $107 worth of bills located about two-thirds of the way through the book.

“I just noticed something in the book,” said Nick, “and I opened to that page.”

His first thought, he said, was, “Wow. Someone left a whole lot of money in this book. Then I wondered why, of course.”

Nick then called the library.

Nick said he wanted know what he could do, and he said he thought the library could contact the last person who had checked out the book.

“I know him, and I wasn’t surprised that he was that honest,” said Mimi Moran, who answered Nick’s phone call to the library.

Ms Moran said Nick is an amazing kid, and said she thought the chances of having someone calling the library about such a find is a “one in a million” chance.

“He is a very responsible young man,” said Ms Moran. “I am quite impressed.”

Nick said he never thought about keeping the money before he called the library.

Eventually Nick learned about the origin of the money from NHS guidance counselor Jeff Tolson, and from there the money was returned to Michael Ziluck, a fellow NHS student and the son of Odyssey of the Mind Newtown Coordinator Ann Ziluck.

Michael had been reading Inheritance when his mother asked him to hold onto some of the money that would be needed to register Michael’s Odyssey of the Mind team. He put the money away in the book for safe keeping.

When Ms Moran called, Ms Ziluck said she named off the types of bills and exactly how much money would have been found in the book.

Ms Ziluck said Nick’s choice to the return the money was above and beyond what a large portion of the population would do.

In a way, Ms Ziluck said her son was returned with the same treatment he showed to a stranger a year ago, when he found “wads” of money at the local CVS. Michael, she said, turned the money over to CVS, and the money was then returned to the man who had misplaced it.

Ms Ziluck said she was amazed that Nick “picked up the phone” when he found the money, some of it saved by Michael from babysitting jobs.

In Newtown, Ms Moran said there is probably more of a chance to have students speak up when they find such discoveries in library books.

“The kids in this town are really good that way,” said Ms Moran.