Tales of a boy who struggles in school

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Mary Ann Gallagher

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Hank Zipzer: The World's Greatest Underachiever

Written by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver

Penguin Young Readers Group, $6.99

Recommended for ages 8-12

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. The co-author of this series is really, truly the one-and-only Henry Winkler (a.k.a. The Fonz). This zany series deals with the ups and downs of life in fourth grade for a student whose brain, as his music teacher reminds me, is wired differently.

Hank Zipzer lives in downtown New York City. His two best friends (and a third-grader who wants to be) live in the same apartment building. His friends do very well in school without much effort while Hank struggles to get his pen to paper. His brain is full of wonderful ideas if only he could express them in written form.

And why can't Ms. Adolf and Principal Love understand that he is not being lazy? His brain just doesn't process things like the rest of the class. Lucky for Hank (or Zip as his friends call him), Mr. Rock, the new music teacher, is on detention duty one day and befriends him. He immediately sees the potential in Hank and sets out to help him fulfill it in his own unique way.

In one story, Hank decides that instead of writing a five-page essay about what he did on summer vacation, he will "build" it. The model of Niagara Falls was not well received by the authorities. In another story, he tries to hide his home report from his mother by tossing it over his shoulder, not knowing it would land directly in the meat grinder only to become part of the next batch of salami. The predicaments in which he finds himself are laugh-out-loud funny, a welcome change to so many of the serious and dark stories out there.

Hank's adventures in this series (there are 15 books in all) are based on the childhood of Henry Winkler himself. Winkler attended school and because he did not do well, he was told he was stupid and lazy. Only as an adult did he discover he had dyslexia. He went on to earn a Masters Degree in Fine Arts, proving that his learning challenge could be overcome.

Even if the reader sails through his studies, this series is important as it deals with people who have difficulty in school in a humorous, gentle way. It is great to read aloud as there are important topics that would be better explained by a parent.

Mary Ann Gallagher owns Benjamin’s Books in Rothesay. Discuss books with her by visiting www.benjaminsbooksbanter.blogspot.com.