Author visits Glen Ellyn's Arbor View Elementary School

GLEN ELLYN – Although award-winning children's author Dori Hillestad Butler wrote her first novel when she was in sixth grade, it took Butler much longer to actually be published.

"It took eight years to find a publisher for my first book," Butler told Arbor View Elementary School students during a visit to the school Nov. 4. "This was my dream. When you have a dream, you can't give up when things get hard."

Butler is the author of such popular children's series as "The Buddy Files" and "The Haunted Library." Her book "Buddy Files: Case of the Lost Boy" won the 2011 Edgar Award for the best juvenile mystery published in 2010.

Coincidentally, Butler spoke to students in the school's library.

She said she enjoys talking to students about her books.

"My own kids are grown," Butler said. "I like to come into a school and connect with my audience."

The visits also sometimes give her new ideas. One Arbor View student suggested she give the ghosts in "The Haunted Library" series the ability to pick people up and move them to another place.

"I hadn't thought about that," Butler said. "That would be cool, wouldn't it?"

Students at Arbor View were quite familiar with Butler's work and previously had Skype conversations with the author prior to her appearance at the school.

"The kids have been checking them out of the library," Arbor View Library Director Joy Yerly said. "Her presentation helps the kids make that connection between what they are reading and a person."

As students learned, some of the characters in Butler's books were inspired by real people.

"Writers write about things they know about or want to know about," Butler said.

Fourth-grader Courtney Cardamone of Glen Ellyn said she is a fan of "The Buddy Files" and "The Haunted Library."

"I think they were really good," Courtney said. "They're entertaining."

Fellow student Amanda Lim, 9, is an aspiring author. She knows how hard it is coming up with an idea for a story, as she has had to do it herself.

"You have to imagine it first," Amanda said.