The Boy with 12 Fingers

By Miller Caldwell

Billy Hansen was born with Polydactyly. He has extra fingers, twelve fingers instead of ten.

His parents aren’t wealthy, and they can’t afford the expensive surgery to fix his hands, but they do love him and try their best to make him forget about his disability. But when he ties his shoelaces or holds his fork, those extra fingers always get in the way, making it difficult to forget.

When Billy starts school, the other children make fun of him and call him names, which makes him feel sad and alone. But when Billy finds a piano in his classroom, he realises that he can use his extra fingers to his advantage. 

Can Billy defy the odds and become the piano player he dreams to be?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Apr 24, 2024
• ISBN: 9781805148036

Miller Caldwell

Miller Caldwell has led a full life where it seems one event has led to another. He confronted Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and brought an African dictator to his knees in tears in Ghana. Miller served the Society of Authors on their committee and was their events manager. He has previously published, amongst others, The Trials of Sally Dunning (Matador), and Penned Poetry for Parkinson's Research (City Stone Publishers), which he was diagnosed with in 2021. Two books, A Lingering Crime and Caught in a Cold War Trap both have Los Angeles film scripts. Miller lives in Dumfries in southwest Scotland.

Book preview

Introduction

Polydactyly is a medical condition in which extra digits are formed.

It is caused by disruptions in a baby’s genes while they’re developing.

Many children can have a visible or invisible disability, which may attract attention and possible bullying.

Children should be encouraged to celebrate the differences in their friends.

Hopefully, children will find The Boy with 12 Fingers a story book to inspire and to discover the special music within each child.

Billy Hansen was like every other boy. He liked to play on swings, kick a ball and climb trees.

He ran fast, he loved music and he loved to sing.

But since his birth he knew he had two special hands. On each hand were six fingers (including his 2 thumbs).

Yes, he had 12 fingers in total when everyone else had ten.

Billy lived in a small house in the country. His parents were not wealthy but they loved their twelve fingered son.

Doctors had told his parents that they could do nothing to change his fingers without an expensive private medical bill but