He’s a world-renowned actor, an award-winning producer and a best-selling author.
Henry Winkler burst into our lives with his scene-stealing role as Arthur Fonzarelli on the long-running series “Happy Days.”
But most of today’s kids know him instead as the author of the best-selling Hank Zipzer series of children’s books.
He’s just released the first book in a new series called “Ghost Buddy #1: Zero to Hero.”
With his writing partner Lin Oliver, a veteran of TV comedy writing, the two use comedy to help children through the trials and tribulations of childhood, focusing on everything from bullying to learning disabilities.
Henry himself knows just how important it is to make a difference in the lives of children. Growing up with dyslexia, people told him he’d never amount to anything.
Henry says he uses these books to try to connect on an emotional level with young people. He knows all too well how dyslexia and other learning disabilities can lead to lifetime shame and consequences. He shares stories of meeting with adults who never learned to read, and therefore, pass up promotion after promotion to keep their secrets. His goal is to teach children the importance of tenacity and gratitude.
The young man who never thought he could do anything just received one of the highest honors in the world when Queen Elizabeth tapped him for the Order of the British Empire for his work with children.
Find out how his own inspirational journey through life motivates him to help children across the world, and why, at 66 years old, he has no plans to stop making a difference any time soon.