June 13, 2021 – Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
Lilly Bernstein lived alone in her house. She invited her niece and nephew for a visit. Lilly was old and she wanted her niece and nephew to remember her when she died. She wanted her niece and nephew to take furniture and decorations from her house. The furniture and decorations would be a way to remember Lilly.
Lilly gave her silver sculptures and fancy plates to her niece and nephew. She gave away her dolls and blankets. She also gave away a box of her books. The books were titled Selling the World. Lilly wrote Selling the World. It was about her life as a travel agent. Few people read the book. She had many copies to share.
“The books have something very valuable inside,” Lilly told her niece and nephew.
Lilly’s niece and nephew did not want the books. They thought Lilly was talking about the message in the books when she said they were valuable. They took the books because they did not want to Lilly to feel bad. They put the books into their cars and drove away from Lilly’s house. They stopped at a thrift store and donated the books.
The donated books were sent to different thrift stores in North Carolina. A man named Evan Naperski bought one of the books for 50 cents. He took it home and read it. When he reached page 19, he found a one-hundred-dollar bill inside. Then he found more money until he had $2100.
Evan looked for more copies of Lilly’s book. He wanted to find more money. He told his family about the book. Many people in North Carolina visited thrift stores looking for the book. Some of them found copies with money inside. Everyone became excited about the book. People talked about it on social media and in news stories.
Lilly’s nephew read a news article about Lilly’s book. He was mad about taking his copies to the thrift store. He called Lilly’s niece.
“Do you have any copies of the book?” Lilly’s nephew asked.
“No, I gave all of mine away,” said Lilly’s niece.
“I wish we could ask Aunt Lilly for more,” said her nephew.
Lilly’s nephew and niece could not ask for more copies because Lilly died two weeks before her nephew read the news article. Before she died, Lilly gave her house and her money to a nearby library.
People kept looking for Lilly’s book. A book publisher printed more copies of the book. People bought it because they wanted to find money inside. Some people read the book after looking for money. They liked the stories inside. The book became popular. Many more copies were sold.
Lilly became a famous author. Her nephew and niece were surprised her books were so valuable. They became valuable only because Lilly’s nephew and niece gave them away.
For a more advanced version of the story (including audio) click here: Cash in Books
Questions about the Story
What was the name of Lilly’s book?
How much money did Evan Naperski find in one of Lilly’s books?
Why did Lilly want to give away her possessions?
Why did Lilly’s nephew and niece give away her books?
Why did Lilly’s book become so popular?
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