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A Harry Potter book takes it own unusual journey -
Summary:
A Harry Potter book takes it own unusual journey
Article:
Thanks to
Wizardnews
It might have been Hogwarts magic at work that brought a Sioux City book on an enchanted journey from Sioux City to Omaha, to Atlanta, Ga., to Sterling, Va., and home again.
Over the Thanksgiving break, Haley Holton, daughter of Tim and Lora Holton of Sioux City, decided to catch up on her reading. The St. Michael's fifth-grader had checked out "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" from the school library and decided to take it on a family trip.
"I had already read the first and second books and since we were going on a cruise for a couple of days, I thought this would be a good time to read it," she said.
The Holtons flew out of Omaha, changing planes in Atlanta, then to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., before boarding the cruise ship.
"When we arrived on the ship, Haley told me she couldn't find the book," Lora said. "I told her it might be in her travel bag or the bottom of the suitcase, but not to worry, that it would turn up."
Despite the fantastical lifestyle of Harry James Potter, the book never did surface.
"I was really sad, because I knew I had left it on the plane and it was a school library book," Haley said. "My mom went out and bought another book for the library."
That was not the end of the story for the adventure written by British novelist J.K. Rowling.
Pam Wilmes is the librarian at St. Michael's Grade School and was surprised to hear a soft, Southern female voice on the phone a few days after Thanksgiving vacation.
"The caller said, 'I think I may have found one of your books,' and gave me the bar code on the back," Wilmes said. "It was Haley's lost library book and I was just flabbergasted."
On the other end of the line was Michele Tully of Sterling, Va. She had boarded the Atlanta plane, after visiting her parents who live there, and noticed the book in the adjacent seat.
"I thought to myself, 'Oh, somebody's disembarked and left their book here,'" she said from her home in Virginia. "Then the plane started to leave and I realized somebody had forgotten the book."
In the softcover 435-page book was Haley's boarding pass which included her name and the fact that she had boarded in Omaha. The book also contained a bar code that included "St. Michael's School," Tully said.
"I decided it would be fun if I could find Haley," she said of her decision to go sleuthing. "Since it was a library book, I thought it even more important."
Tully didn't use any incantations to find Haley (after all the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry strictly forbids casting spells in the non-magic world). She was already armed with Haley's name, a city and a school name.
"Certainly, she could have been from California, which would have taken a lot longer," Tully laughed, "but I found three St. Michael's schools in the Omaha area and decided to call them."
Three strikes and she was out, but not defeated.
"I found a St. Michael's in South Sioux City and they said their library books didn't have bar codes," Tully said. "They thought it might be their 'sister school' of St. Michael's in Sioux City, Iowa."
Thus the connection was made with Wilmes, and the book was on its way to its home on the library shelf. However, the saga continued.
"I received the sweetest note from Haley's mom and a picture from their cruise," Tully said. "I was so surprised; I've been showing it to everybody."
Everyone has professed to some level of wonder at the journey the book has made.
"It's a great story, because Michele took the time and the kindness to do this good deed," Lora said. "I think it showed Haley, even with so much bad news all the time, what goodwill can do."
"I just like to solve problems," Tully said. "Besides I'm a big Harry Potter fan too."
"Sure, it's not like finding a million dollars and returning it, but it is a lovely gesture," Wilmes said. "It was such a surprise because who would go through the trouble of doing all of the tracking?"
Haley has her own plans for the book.
"I'm going to check it out and finish it," the 10-year-old insisted.
