MiamiHerald.com
Long before his star turn as Fonzie, the cool dude on the '70s TV sitcom Happy Days, Henry Winkler had the uncool, unhappy experience of feeling like the class dunce. His frustrations sprang primarily from trying to learn to read.
A diagnosis of dyslexia came too late to help him as a kid, when his struggles regularly punctured his self-esteem. It did, however, inspire a second act. Winkler is now a best-selling children's book author, with his Hank Zipzer: The World's Greatest Underachiever series that chronicles the school life of a high-spirited fourth-grader with ``learning differences.''
''At one time it was so hard for me to read a book. It is so monumental for me to be able to write a book,'' Winkler said. ``I want kids to be able to identify, laugh and realize that they're not alone no matter what their learning challenge is.''
Winkler will introduce his 14th installment, The Life of Me (Grosset & Dunlap, $5.99, ages 8 -12), co-written with Lin Oliver, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Temple Beth Am, 5950 North Kendall Dr., Miami. The series' popularity -- more than one million books sold -- certainly owes a debt to Winkler's fame, but also to having struck a chord with a huge subset of youngsters: kids who are not readers, who are struggling in school, and who don't see kids like themselves depicted as heroes.
Hank is the kind of student who is terrified at the prospect of having to write five paragraphs about his summer vacation -- one whole sentence takes monumental effort. Short, entertaining books about a kid who occasionally makes a mess of things -- and what kid hasn't? -- are particularly reassuring to those readers who find sitting still and finishing a book, or book report, difficult.
If they read the jacket cover, those readers may also be encouraged to find learning differences can be conquered. Winkler went on the college and graduate school. His master's degree in Fine Arts? It's from a place named Yale.
