Knees: The mixed up world of a boy with dyslexia

by Vanita Oelschlager, Joe Rossi (Illustrator)

Knees shows the ups and downs of life with dyslexia. We have done this book in the style and size of a chapter book so that younger children and older children at low reading levels can read what seems to be an older child's book.We cover dyslexia’s symptoms and the reasons school can be hard for dyslexics. We talk about some famous people who had or have dyslexia.The book is endorsed by the head master of a school where many of the children have dyslexia. He has dyslexia himself.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Disability, Graphic Novels, Inspirational, School, Middle Grade

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2012

About the author

Vanita Oelschlager is a wife, mother,grandmother, former teacher, current caregiver and, for almost ten years, author and poet.

She was born and raised near Pittsburgh. She is a graduate of Mt. Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where she currently serves as a Trustee.

She has also supported and helped Jim as he built Oak Associates, ltd. into a successful investment management firm.

Today, as an accomplished author, Vanita shares openly the experiences that she, Jim and their families have had with multiple sclerosis. She has likened MS to living with an elephant, one that won't go away or be ignored. Together, she and Jim have found ways to live with this "elephant", and to share some of the larger lessons about life they've learned through the disease.

Reviews

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4★
“I have dyslexia,
I’ll try to explain.
Things get mixed up
Between my eyes and my brain.”

Another thoughtful addition to the libraries of parents and teachers to help children with dyslexia.

Oelschlager produced the hard copy on heavy cream-coloured paper to reduce show-through and minimise contrast, and to make it more comfortable to read for people with dyslexia, she chose a font called ‘Lexia Readable’.

The pencil drawings have been similarly designed to be clear. Having said all of those things, those of us without dyslexia will just note that it’s an attractive, easy-to-read, easy-to-understand book for all kids (and adults!).

The narrator is a schoolboy who’s pretty frustrated that where his friends see b, he sees d, and that he often not only sees but even says things backwards or inside-out.

Although though his parents and teachers have helped and told him about many famous people who had dyslexia, including Einstein, he still feels inadequate. Dad says he will find something he’s good at, so he investigates.

Searching like a detective for something he’s good at.
One day, he finds a basketball in the park and chances a shot at the hoop. WHOOSH! Nothing but net! What a surprise! And again!

Finding a basketball and testing his skill

He plays basketball at school and is nicknamed “Knees”, for his knobbly knees. Now that he’s accidentally found one thing he likes, he thinks about something he’s always wanted to do. Be a pilot! He says his teacher will help him with reading and math.

That’s the spirit! Confidence!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the copy for review from which I’ve pinched the illustrations. And special thanks to the author for producing so many good tools for schools. Her books are all Read Now on NetGalley (as far as I know).

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Louis is a little boy with has dyslexia and not a dyslexic boy.



I know in my profession that we always have to keep in mind the person and not the disorder. And it's so hard when you have something as impactful as dyslexia, where you feel that every day is a screw-up.





And that's all that this little book is about. It focuses on the person and not the dyslexia, while giving children with learning disabilities understanding, empathy and hope.



Louis has dyslexia and is having difficulty finding something that he is good at in life.



This book is lovely and very well illustrated. My boyfriend (who struggles with dyslexia) mentioned that this book would have meant so much to him as a child. It provides a little utopia where Louis gets help and understands his disability. More than anything children need something to relate to. This book will also help the child (and misinformed parents and teachers) about dyslexia.



Another plus to this is that rhyming is involved, and rhyming is an integral skill that children need for reading (this is the speech therapist in me talking here, so bear in mind)



This book also has a lot to do with finding your passion in life - and this is something anyone can relate to. When it comes to a child with dyslexia, they are often told they are stupid and cannot achieve anything in life. Louis goes through development in these few pages where he finds something to love while still working on his dyslexia so that he may succeed in school.






But the point of the book is why you feel frustrated is so accurate and relatable. You are not stupid and not slow. You are wonderful. And to any child or adult with a learning disability, you are wonderful. You are worth the world, despite the ups and downs you face.



I recommend to this to teachers, speech-therapists, parents and children with dyslexia and many, many others who wish to broaden their understanding through a fun little book.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Edit: grammar

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Vanita Oelschlager, and VanitaBooks LLC for providing Neo and me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

As Neo and I expand our reading horizons, we tried this interesting piece that hit home for both of us. This story is about Louis the Third, a child in the fourth grade who suffers from dyslexia. He explains what that means and how he has to take extra time to overcome some of the hurdles. While school work has him bummed out, Louis discovers something he likes and practices to get better. By the end of the summer, he has mastered it and living with dyslexia is not so bad. A great piece to lift the spirits of anyone with a disability who might need to see the bright side of things.

As we finished this piece, Neo and I were left with some strong sentiments. Neo has some learning hurdles that he has been trying to overcome. While his have been overcome with pacing and some medicine, there are many who likely feel hopeless and have nothing that they can do. This book, told in a rhyming style, shows that things can be good, even if you have to approach them differently. Plus, there is the chance that you will excel in other areas, even if it is not school. Great illustrations kept Neo interested as he understood the struggles Louis had throughout.

Kudos, Madam Oelschlager, for writing to let kids know it is ok to be different.

Did you know Neo’s has his own GR account for reviews? Check him out:https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1...

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Knees:The Mixed-Up World of a Boy With Dyslexia
by Vanita Oelschlager
I requested this book from NetGalley and the review is voluntary.
This is a great book for kids to learn about dyslexia in a fun way. It is about a boy with dyslexia and how he learns to deal with it in his own way. It is a rhyming book but not childish. It also gives a list of famous people that had or has dyslexia. The adorable pictures are clever and appealing and follow the story. The pictures are sure to make many smiles along the way. A fun book yet addresses an issue that is a tough one. Great job!

[Dana-Adriana B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We are all good of something. We just need to find it", great words for a dyslexic kid, who feels sad because he cannot do things like his friends. Great book with a great lesson for us.
Thanks Netgalley and the author for this book.

[Shoa Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knees tells the story of Louis the Third, a young boy who suffers from dyslexia.
It provides an insight into the kind of problems dyslexic kids face at every juncture, which others may not realize exist; even more so, because the kids may not even be able to express them in the first place.
That said, the book is so beautifully simple, that kids won't have trouble following it, esp. with simple, yet meaningful illustrations like these:
>

On the other hand, it also features powerful illustrations such as this:


A special shoutout to Joe Rossi, the illustrator!

This is a very important book, especially because it takes such a positive and hopeful look at dyslexia. I'm sure it would help children, parents and teachers alike.

[TarHeelReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a warmhearted look into one child's experience with dyslexia, his family and teacher's support of him, and his ability to overcome- by finding his strengths and building on them. The introduction to dyslexia itself was simple (not nearly as involved as dyslexia is much more than mixed up letters), but on a child's level, I think it was perfectly appropriate. I loved the focus on finding where you excel and building on it, while not giving up. I also loved how the famly was supportive to the child, as well as the teacher at the school.

Thank you so much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this special book.

[Lin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute inspirational illustrated book bringing awareness of a condition that affects a lot of people regadless of their age - dyslexia.

It is a book I would highly recommend for parents with kids that have the condition to show them thar they are not alone and they could find and do what they are good at. And most importantly not to be afraid because of it and never to give up.

I love the message here and we need more books featuring this condition and bringing awareness of it at school at work and to everyone.


A big thank you to the Publisher for the opportunity!

[Evelina | AvalinahsBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute illustrated uplifting book that you can read to or with your children. It teaches that you can achieve things even if you struggle with dyslexia, even tells about the famous people who had it. It can also help teach kids without this problem to better understand their friends who have it.

I was given this book on netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

[Neo · Rating 4 out of 5]

First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Vanita Oelschlager, and VanitaBooks LLC for providing my dad and me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.

As my dad and I expand our reading horizons, we tried this interesting piece that hit home for both of us. This story is about Louis the Third, a child in the fourth grade who suffers from dyslexia. He explains what that means and how he has to take extra time to overcome some of the hurdles. While school work has him bummed out, Louis discovers something he likes and practices to get better. By the end of the summer, he has mastered it and living with dyslexia is not so bad. A great piece to lift the spirits of anyone with a disability who might need to see the bright side of things.

We had some strong feelings as we finished this book. I have some learning hurdles that I’, trying to overcome. While I can pace myself and some medication, there are many who likely feel hopeless and have nothing that they can do. This book, told in a rhyming style, shows that things can be good, even if you have to approach them differently. Plus, there is the chance that you will excel in other areas, even if it is not school. Great illustrations kept me interested as he understood the struggles Louis had throughout. I recommend it to parents and kids who have learning troubles in their households, or send it to someone you know who could benefit.

[Jakki Newton · Rating 1 out of 5]

You would think that if one wrote a book about dyslexia, one might highlight some of the strengths of dyslexics: strong narrative skills, great sense of 3D, dynamic reasoning, great long term memory, and creativeness for example. Dyslexics become great scientists, architects, engineers, artists, writers and entrepreneurs - why not use this for inspiration? These jobs utilise their strengths - not basketball! It is almost as if she is saying they aren't good at reading, but they might be good at sport (or anything else that isn't academic). This isn't true. They can very well become brilliant academics - look at Einstein. He didn't become so brilliant despite his dyslexia but because of it.

Of course this book is supposed to be encouraging, but I nearly didn't show my dyslexic daughter as I was concerned she would think something was wrong with her. Not all dyslexics feel like failures (my 7 year old sings about how lucky she is to be so gifted at art. She says she wouldn't swap this to be good at spelling for anything in the world).

Dyslexia is not inherently a disadvantage, just a learning difference. It is not dyslexics who have the problem but the education system, and the old fashioned attitudes of authors like this who really don't seem to understand at all what they are writing about, despite the good intentions.

[Producervan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knees The Mixed-Up World of a Boy With Dyslexia by Vanita Oelschlager. 5 Stars+. What a wonderful book for your dyslexic child, a friend, neighbor or even an adult. Highly recommend this family-centered focus on dealing with word blindness at home and at school. Another great book from this author. Thanks to NetGalley for providing this ebook for review.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

We need books about Dyslexia, if for no other reason than that there are people out there that need to understand why they don't understand. Full disclosure, I, my partner, and my daughter all have various stages of dyslexia. I have largely overcome it. My partner never has, and my daughter seems to be dealing, so I do know something about this subject.

So, I went into this book thinking, at last a book that deals with this, and would help.

Well, sort of.

The book is a large picture book (66 pages), although it says it is an early chapter book. It has about one sentence per page. No problems there. I completely understand that this is written for kids that are dealing with dyslexia.

No, the problem I have with this book, the reason I only rate it 3 stars is...lots of reasons. Let me see if I can name them.

First, the good things. The book points out that many famous people had dyslexia and over came it. I don't know how true it is that Einstein, Kennedy and Henry Ford had dyslexia, or how severe it was. But, that is encouraging. The book also says that although you need to be able to read and write, if you find a passion, and you go for it, you will find your niche. In this case, the boy finds that he is really good at basketball. And that is why the book is called knees, because he is tall and gangly and he is good at basketball.

The bad things. All the women, not the adults, but the women, have no heads. I could understand it if it was all the adults, but the father has a face, why none of the adult women. Also, all the women are overly feminized. I know, I know, this is a kids book, by why do that? I mean, there are skateboarding girls in the book, and even one person of color. (wow!).

Other bad things, I know that you don't want to discourage any of the kids, and perhaps this is just my thing, but some of the funny things that come out of my partner's mouth, because she has such bad dyslexia would have been fun to point out, but again, that just might be me.

And I know this is a low level book, but they never go in to how to overcome and a live with dyslexia. My partner had teachers that taught her how to deal with it, and gave advice.

So, yeah, for lack of anything else, I would encourage kids who are dyslexic to read this book, but I wouldn't push them too. It is not fun, or colorful, or entertaining, which brings me to another point.

As I said, my daughter had a hard time learning to read. She never really got into it, but graphic novels allowed her to read, and enjoy stories, and that was what she settled on, while everyone else was reading huge books, like Harry Potter, she was eating through graphic novels.

And, because of her problem with dyslexia, her teachers allowed her to draw her reports. (as well as bake them, and do anything to get around the problem.) She is now a third year student in animation. And all of this because she had to find an alternative way of expressing herself. Sometimes dyslexia leads the brain to having to deal with things that have nothing to do with the normal academic world. It would have been nice if this had been brought up.

I believe that is why this book is done with few words, and large pictures. The problem is, and this is always a problem with kids that are having a hard time reading, you have to give them something interesting to read to make it worth their time. This book, sorry, is not worth their time. This is a pity, because it is a real problem, and their should be more books.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available so I could give it an honest review.

[Lanica · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an elementary school librarian I am always looking for books to teach kids about learning disabilities. Based on the cover and the description this looked like exactly what I was looking for. It was not as useful as I had hoped. Knees was not so much about dyslexia as it was about overcoming difficulties. It spends more time talking about how the main character finds something he’s good at than how to help kids with dyslexia succeed in school.

This book only has a simple explanation of dyslexia “Things get mixed up between his eyes and brain, b’s look like d’s, and numbers and words get jumbled.” There is a mention of a special teacher, but it gets lost in the rhyming scheme, which I think is the biggest failing of this book. It doesn’t need the rhyming. The story, the idea, gets lost in the forced rhymes. I would rather the right amount of words be used to say what needs to de said, than the rhymes be catchy and perfect. This book felt like it skipped over some very important ideas, and expanded on less important ideas, all to keep the rhymes in order. I will buy this book and read it aloud to kids. But, I will be adding more discussion at the end to learn about the omissions.

Also, it says in the description that it talks about others with dyslexia. It lists names, but nothing else is said about them.

If it were a mainstream kid overcoming a problem it would have been a good book. If it were a dyslexic kids telling us how he overcomes school problems, it would have been a great book. But, as it is, I think it misses its mark because a mainstream kid will see that an’special’ kid is the one overcoming the problem and feel that they are not connected; at the same time, a dyslexic kids I’ll already know these basics and will feel that it oversimplifies the difficulties they are facing.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This lovely book is written in rhyming prose and illustrated in simple attractive black over cream drawings. Its goal is to explain dyslexia from the point of view of a boy who suffers it. It shows in a very clear way how difficult is for "Knees" to do some things other kids do without give it much thought. How he struggles and even feels upset sometimes, but how he is able to success too, like any other boy.
Great book to introduce little kids to the topic of differences, tolerance and acceptance.

Check out more children's book reviews in my Reviews in Chalk Blog!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hopeful that this would be a good book, and I wasn't disappointed! The illustrations are large and clear, and the text short and succinct with just a few words on each page (rhyming too, which was a nice touch). I was particularly pleased to see dyslexia described as 'a gift', as so often children can lose confidence over it. It was a great touch to name some famous people that had dyslexia (Walt Disney is a good one to use, as I'm sure that reference will never tire!)

On the whole, this book sends a really great message - despite dyslexia, you can do anything you put your mind to with practice! Really impressed with this one.

[Fictionophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Educational yet charming book about a boy with dyslexia.
Rhyming prose tells of his despair over feeling different than the rest of the children in school as well as his frustration with the problems he faces attempting to keep up with his schoolwork.
As he grows, he finds that he is better able to cope and that with practice, he can achieve anything he sets his mind to...
Contains appealing black and white illustrations - that in my opinion would have been even more appealing in color.

[Josephine Sorrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Louis is in the fourth grade. He is a typical boy and Louis enjoys going to school. The problem is that sometimes school is not easy for Louis. He has a “mixed-up brain” that often sees things differently than the other children and even adults. Louis has dyslexia. No matter how hard he tries, words look backwards.

The illustrations in the book do a good job of showing the difficulties of someone with dyslexia.

Sometimes, when Louis writes, reads, and speaks, the words get twisted and turned around. A “b” will look like a “d.” When someone speaks, the words can get garbled and difficult to understand. Louis needs extra time to get his work done. Luckily, Louis has a special teacher to helps him learn. She is understanding and patient.

Louis learns he is in good company with his condition. Lots of other famous, successful people were p/are dyslexic as he is.

Louis dad tells him that everybody is good at something, and he just has to find it. Upon this revelation, Louis explores hobbies until he stumbles on the one where he is really good.

I liked this book because it takes the reader right into the classroom. It shows the things Louis faces, what challenges him each day, and how he manages to deal. The reader glimpses Louis’ home life and his need to find something he is good at, just like other kids. Louis just wants to be a normal kid. He has encouraging parents, a couple of great friends and, by books end, a new gained confidence in himself and his future.

As a 40 year veteran teacher I feel the book is a little too rosy, but on the other hand I feel it serves a good purpose of getting the point across that dyslexia is real and can be dealt with. I want all children to experience the book for understand and empathy

[Cereja Cult · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on 07/12/2012

This is a really sweet story about a boy that has dyslexia and is truly honest about the difficulties a child encounters while trying to fit in with the world.
Everybody feels inadequate at least once in life and don’t even has to have any special problem. Being normal is not something easy to be, but being special is even harder. To feel stupid and just wrong among all the other people sucks, to say the least.
What I liked in this book and think is the main reason everybody should read it is simple: The message in it.
Book messages are subjective, so I’ll tell what I read into it and you can judge *after reading the book yourself* if I’m right or wrong.
Life sucks sometimes. *wait, that’s not the whole message* Life sucks, however, you can’t live your life trying to do or be like everybody else. This is meant to fail.
When I was at school I wanted to be as good volleyball player as my friends were, but I sucked. In fact, I think I still do. In life there’ll always be something that you can’t do as good as the other people do, but you can’t be sad or feel bad about it. You just have to keep looking for the thing you are meant to do, the person you are meant to be.
When you find the world will surely stop sucking and, even being different, won’t seem as bad as used to be. Once you finds and accept yourself, everybody will just follow your lead.
That’s the message I got from this story and it certainly made me feel better. And you know what? Being weird is cool!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok so I've read a number of books by Vanita Oelschlager. Some good, some bad. I didn't know what to expect with this one but I figured I'd give it a shot so I snagged a copy from *Netgalley

Knees tells the story of a little boy with dyslexia. He tries to explain what it is and then goes on to telling how he tries to find things he is good at. He finally finds basketball and he is quite good at it.

While my son doesn't have dyslexia he could still relate to the problems that the little boy had. I've stated before how my son is learning disabled so he understood the boy having to work extra hard about having a "special teacher". Though my son has multiple "special teachers".

My son did well with this book and his favorite part was when the boy would fall on his butt playing kickball. Again my son has the sense of humor of any other normal little boy. Put in a fart joke or have someone landing on their butt and he'll crack up and think it was the brilliant written piece of literature to grace this earth.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than the other books I've read by the author. I think she did a great job explaining dyslexia and keeping the book interesting enough that it is not limited to just kids with dyslexia or other special needs. I think a "normal" child would have no problem reading and enjoying this book. I also thought that the illustrations were top notch.

4 out of 5 stars.



*I received a free copy of this ebook from Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion
**This book was read with my special needs son who is severely learning disabled. The review reflects not only my opinion but his as well

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is certainly a need for stories out there which directly address dyslexia, but this one wasn't really a story so much as it was a pep talk. The illustrations are great - fun, funny, silly - and they place the "story" in the character's perspective... but it's still mostly 'tell' rather than 'show.' Very little action. No plot to speak of. Just the kid getting pep talks from teachers and parents and then testing out activities to find out what he's good at. I'm not sure there will be enough here to engage a child reader. I found the story pedantic, with little more than rah-rah cheerleading. Feels like a missed opportunity to offer some real insights and tools to kids with dyslexia to help them academically. Figuring out that you're good at basketball, like the main character does, isn't really sufficient to excel at school.

Also, I'm concerned at the nugget of ableism embedded in the message - dyslexia is "a gift." I don't have dyslexia, but I have an invisible disability, and I hate the message that chronic illness, mental illness or physical disability is "a gift," something to be overcome, to triumph over.

At the very least, if you insist on going this route, tell us why the dyslexia is a gift. Does it bring with it different ways of seeing the world? Are there truly upsides to it, that non-dyslexics don't experience? Again, I don't know, but if the author is going to use that language, it deserves some effort to explain or place it in context.

Only redeemed by the illustrations.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.

[Moon Shine Art Spot ~ Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book description:

Knees shows the ups and downs of life with dyslexia. We have done this book in the style and size of a chapter book so that younger children and older children at low reading levels can read what seems to be an older child's book.
We cover dyslexia’s symptoms and the reasons school can be hard for dyslexics. We talk about some famous people who had or have dyslexia.
The book is endorsed by the head master of a school where many of the children have dyslexia. He has dyslexia himself.

MoonShine Art Spot review:
Http://MoonShineArtSpot.blogspot.com


Oelschlager done an amazing job of writing an uplifting and fun book about a serious situation for many children and adults. I was fortunate to receive this book free in exchange for an honest review. Knees is told by a young boy who is dyslexic making it more relatable to a child dealing with the symptoms and suggestions for helping deal with the situation. The illustrations greatly add to the positive feel of the book.

I think a wonderful addition is the mention of famous people who were also dyslexic lets the children know that they too can be successful. Everyone learns differently and deserves to feel good about themselves, and realize they have other strengths too. A wonderful message is related in a very positive way that offers both entertainment and hope for those who experience dyslexia or love someone who does.

[Tam Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this book to every elementary school library out there. This book not only gives you a glimpse into the world of someone with dyslexia, but it gives even the reader, whether dyslexic or not, encouragement to find that thing they're good at. This book can be for anyone: young, old, and in between.

The story isn't complicated. It's simple-which is all this book needs to be. The illustrations-right on for this book. I loved it- simple black and white illustrations. You can finish the book in minutes.

I wish I could learn more about why his teacher says that it's a "gift". Maybe one extra page to explain that right after the boy says his teacher said that. So we can too understand why the teacher said that. What's her reasoning behind that. Is it a gift to the boy? Is it a gift to the rest of the world. It could be both. But another extra sentence would be nice.

I thought it was very carefully planned out as well since the paper and font style help ease the difficulty in reading for those who are dyslexic. Even the net profits from this book go toward a school that teaches children with different learning and attention difficulties.

I wouldn't mind reading more books like these. Easy books for children that teach about a specific difficulty, whether mental or physical-such as cerebral palsy.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a couple of Vanita Oelschlager's children’s books before. She always writes though provoking children’s books. Her books usually teach that just because someone is a little different than you doesn’t mean that you won’t have a something in common. In fact, you might have a lot in common and become good friends. Knees is no exception to that rule. Knees is about a boy named Louis who has dyslexia. The book helps children understand what dyslexia is. It also teaches that a lot of famous people have had dyslexia and have still been successful in life. The most important lesson that the book teaches is just because you have difficulty doing one thing doesn’t mean you won’t excel at something else. Louis has difficulty reading but he is amazing at basketball. I really like that the print version of the book is printed on special paper so the children with dyslexia can have an easier time reading it. The illustrations were hard to see on my Kindle. However, I think that may have been a compatibility issue with my Kindle and the file I received for review. I would be ecstatic if Vanita Oelschlager continued to write more children's books.

[Elle Markov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book for parents and children dealing with dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a developmental reading disorder and it is characterized by having difficulty with reading and writing.

The book is told from the point of young boy, Louis, who is dealing with dyslexia and how he feels. During the book he feels down because he struggles with school, his mother is encouraging, but he says "that's a mom's job", his dad give him very sound advice "We're all good at something. You just have to find it.". So Louis goes off on a quest to find what he is good.

I recommend this book for parents trying to explain to young children what dyslexia is. The book is short and it's a good introductory read.

If you want more information, you can visit National Center for Learning Disabilities. Many children sometimes feel that dyslexia means they're dumb or something; there is nothing wrong with having dyslexia, it can be overcome, many people with dyslexia go on to do great things. So, lets get informed and read@book or two or a million, together we can help make learning fun for anyone with learning disabilities.

Rating 5 out of 5
Read@Book

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Thankyou to NetGalley & the publishers for this copy

I loved how this book, with it's simple story lines & black & white cartoon illustrations, explained what dyslexia is, in a way that both kids and adults can easily understand.

I grew up with a dyslexic father & younger sister, so I've seen first hand how it unknowingly pops up in everyday life, sometimes going unnoticed but other times causing problems. This book shows in a fun & engaging way that you are still normal, you can still have friends, and you can still learn - you just need to learn what works for you & find your hidden skills.

being tagged as "dumb" can have long lasting effects on children, and I believe books like this one can go a long way to helping all children, especially the ones with dyslexia, to understand that everyone's different but at the same time are still "normal".

I will definitely be sharing this one with my son in the next couple of years ready for when he enters school.

[Lori Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must for every parent of a dyslexic child and should be on the shelf of all teachers and school libraries. Knees is unique because it tackles the struggles of dyslexia from the view point of the child. I also like how the author spends the later part of the book dealing with the child’s search for something he is good at. The approach the author uses in this book makes it very apropos for children who have friends who are dyslexic or for teachers helping the whole class to better understand what Dyslexia is and especially the difficulties that some students may face in their schoolwork. The kids will love the illustrations in their hand-drawn cartoon style!

[Stacie Wyatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Knees-a mixed-up world of a boy with dyslexia by Vanita Oelschlager, in exchange for review from Netgalley.com . The book was published by Vanita Books, LLC. The graphics in the book was wonderful-simple black and white images. Each page also rhymed. The book told the story of a boy living with dyslexia. He confused his letters. Having dyslexia did not stop him from trying new things. The book captured my kids attention and was a quick read. I chose this book because the child had a mental disorder, just like my kids. I enjoyed reading this book to them.

[Huda Fel · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book tells the story of a school boy who has dyslexia; so what is it like to have dyslexia, how it feels like and what can be done about it.

[Aliza Werner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pair with Fish in A Tree. About a boy with dyslexia finding his strengths.