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.

[My Goodreads review shows the illustration of him 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!

[[My Goodreads review shows the illustrations of him 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).

Knees is story of Louis the Third, who suffers from Dyslexia. How he goes in and out of daily routine.
This book reminded me so much of ‘Taare Zameen Par‘ an Indian movie that has beautifully shown world the problem of children’s with Dyslexia.

The book, is beautifully illustrated that is what kids will love about it.
Full review at blog

I loved this book for tackling another very important message that isn't discussed very often in children's literature. Everyone is different, and some people learn differently. This book is about Louis the Third, a young boy who suffers from dyslexia. He struggles in school, and finds that letters and numbers often get all jumbled up for him. The book touches on how many famous people had dyslexia, and they were still able to become successful. He doesn't like to be any different from the children in his school, but one day his father tells him that everyone is good at something. Louis the Third really wants to be good at something, so he keeps trying new things, and one day finds that he is great at playing basketball. His new found love for basketball helps him deal with his dyslexia.

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

Beautifully illustrated children’s book that empathises with the reader with dyslexia and has an encouraging message that we all have gifts - might take a while for us to find out what we are good at, so keep looking.

Knees is written by a teacher who works at a school for students with learning disabilities and other difficulties. It's about a boy who has dyslexia, and struggles in school. His family tell him that everyone is good at something and he just needs to figure out what his special skill is. He tries many different things, and discovers one day that he is great basketball. This story does a great job introducing dyslexia to kids, and has a great message that everyone is different and we all have things we are good at. I especially liked the ending, when his mom tells him that he can find other things he is good at as well. If he puts some effort into something he is interested in, he can do whatever he wants with support from his family and teachers. I'd love to share this with my own students.

This is a very simple book, which will be useful for introducing the topic of dyslexia to younger children.

We meet 'Louis the Third', who explains his difficulties, and tells us about the famous dyslexics his special teacher has mentioned (including Einstein and Picasso) and his friends who hang out with him.

Both his teacher and his parents say that dyslexia is a gift and that everyone is 'good at something. You just have to find it.' Louis keeps trying and eventually finds his special skill.

I like the care and attention taken with this book. The paper copy is printed on cream paper, to reduce 'glare' and the font Lexie Readable was chosen to make it more accessible for dyslexics. There are some US words, which I would need to explain if I used the book in the UK.

A copy of this review is also posted on my goodreads page.

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.

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.

An interesting read about being a kid with dyslexia. This is an important book but the illustrations fell a bit too flat for me.

*thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

3 stars.
A decent book for children about Dyslexia. I really liked the flow of this story, It grabbed my attention right away. The illustrations are cartoonish and they go well with the story. It gets the kids to understand what having Dyslexia is like and to connect with the main character, so that those who have it, feel more like its ok and not something to feel bad about. Any book that helps a child feel less alone and alienated is a winner, and I believe that this book does just that.

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!

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.

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

It is a book I would highly recommend for parents with kids that have the condition to show them that 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.


Thank you!!

A simple story about dyslexia but not in a talked down kind of way. Color illustrations vs b&w would be nicer.

This book puts dyslexia in perspective by showing the struggles and the possibilities. The illustrations brilliantly ehnance the message of positivity and persistence. Great for everyone.

I loved this book. It was a perfect example of how a disability can cause somone to feel they can't do anything thing right and cause major self doubt. It also provede an amazing example of how every person has a gift but sometimes it takes a long time to find that gift. Having Dyslexia myself, I always try to show students that your disability does not define you, and you can be anything you want if you set your mind to it. This booik exemplifies that belief.

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.

As a former fourth grade teacher, two things jumped out immediately about this book. One, the publishers created this book to have the look and feel of a middle grade novel even though the text is simple to read and the word count is quite low. Next, they printed it on cream colored paper, which was an important modification I made for my students with dyslexia. One of my students told me that when she looked at words on that color of background they "stopped moving around on the page". I think this book was well done.

An excellent and inspiring look at dyslexia. Vanita strikes again!

I enjoyed this book so much that I am going to introduce it to my classroom for the few students that have dislexia! I feel that we should let others know about things of this nature so that when you meet someone who has something of this nature wrong with them, theyll understand them better and be less likely to bully!