VERO BEACH — The man who long ago played the Fonz in the TV series “Happy Days” is finding fans in grade school just as he did with their parents and grandparents. The reason? Two series of books Henry Winkler has written with co-author Lin Oliver. Both are appearing at the Vero Beach Book Center next week and are making visits to Indian River County schools.
The two series, “Hank Zipzer, the World’s Greatest Underachiever” and “Here’s Hank,” star a bright young protagonist who has dyslexia.
The reading disorder occurs when the brain does not properly recognize and process certain symbols. Those with dyslexia have difficulty connecting sounds to the letters in words. Over 40 million Americans have dyslexia; the prevalence among school children is estimated at 5 to 17 percent.
In the “Hank Zipzer” series, Hank is a 4th grader. In the newer “Here’s Hank” books, he’s in 2nd grade and the books are written on that level.
Winkler is open about his own dyslexia and the problems it caused him in school. In a long and accomplished career, he says his proudest achievement is writing these books with Oliver – 28 so far.
In his many visits to schools around the world – including a trip to Vero in 2008 – he sees first-hand how the books have helped young lives.
“The books are funny, so first the kids laugh really hard,” he says. “Then they ask ‘How do you know me so well?’”
Winkler was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 30; he read his first book at 31, and loved the experience.
“I couldn’t believe I was getting through it and I didn’t want it to end,” he says.
These days, one of his favorite writers is Daniel Silva, the best-selling author of thriller and espionage novels.
Although dyslexia is likely an ancient disorder – Cleopatra is thought to have had it – it was not as known or understood when Winkler was in school. As a result, he did not get much support at home or in the school system, except for one teacher who said, “Winkler, if you ever do graduate, you’ll be great.”
Winkler did not graduate with his high school class, in part due to failing geometry three times, before finally passing with a D minus.
“That was 1963,” Henry says. “And to this day no one has ever asked me what a hypotenuse is.”
His serious point is that students are often taught things they don’t use in life; a better approach, he believes, would be to teach them how to learn so they can pursue what they really love.
“I always ask kids if they know what they’re great at. They all do,” he says.
The “Here’s Hank” series is printed in Dyslexie font, lettering specifically designed for dyslexic readers, as described in a preamble in the latest in that series, “Fake Snakes and Weird Wizards.”
“It’s designed to make letters more distinct from one another and to keep them tied down, so to speak, so that the readers are less likely to flip them in their minds. The letters in the font are also spaced wide apart to make reading them easier.”
Co-author Oliver praises publisher Grosset & Dunlap for being willing to pay extra for the font due to licensing costs.
While the earlier “Hank Zipzer” series wasn’t printed with the Dyslexie font, it did use techniques helpful to the young reader, especially those with dyslexia. Some chapters are comprised solely of lists (Hank loves lists) and there is plenty of “white space,” which provides a break for the eye.
Henry says that it’s usually around the 3rd grade that dyslexia is diagnosed. But there can be signs exhibited by pre-school children; starting to talk later, for example, and having trouble pronouncing words or reciting nursery rhymes.
“Sometimes kids act out; they know that academics are hard for them, but in some cases they are not yet identified as learning-challenged, so they are trying to manage without knowing what’s wrong,” Winkler says.
Music programs often help. “It hurts my heart that music programs are the first thing to be cut.”
Winkler and Oliver have a mantra when talking to kids: No matter how difficult school is, it has nothing to do with how brilliant you are.
Winkler and Oliver will be at the Vero Beach Book Center Wednesday Feb. 11 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Call 772-569-2050 or go to www.verobeachbookcenter.com.