In this exploration of dyslexia, ADHD and neurodivergent people, Australian Children's Laureate Sally Rippin asks: What happens to kids who don’t learn how to read? And how can we help?

When Sally Rippin discovered her child was struggling to read, the best-selling children’s author assumed it would sort itself out over time. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Her son’s dyslexia and ADHD went unsupported for years, leaving him further and further behind his peers, and labelled as ‘difficult’ by an education system that couldn’t easily cater to neurodivergent kids. By the time Sally learned how to advocate for her child, it was – almost – too late.

This extraordinary book for parents is about how we learn to read and what can happen if we don’t, through the eyes of a parent who started out by doing everything the wrong way. Through meticulous research, interviews with educational experts and conversations with neurodivergent adults, Rippin shares her brilliant and eye-opening insights into how we can help all kids find the joy in reading, and advocate for them within our schooling system. After all, they say school isn’t for everyone, but if everyone must go to school – then why not?