The World's Greatest Underachiever and the Mutant Moth

by Henry Winkler

I grew up on the West side of New York City in the same building Hank lives in. The neighbourhood, the stores, the park, the school and even Ms Adolf are all taken from my life. I took the Broadway bus number 104 to school every day.

  What was it like growing up with dyslexia?

  When I was growing up in New York City, no one knew what dyslexia was. I was called stupid and lazy, and I was told that I was not living up to my potential. It was, without a doubt, painful. I spent most of my time covering up the fact that reading, writing, spelling, maths, science – actually, every subject but lunch – was really, really difficult for me. If I went to the shop and paid the bill with paper money and I was given coins back for change, I had no idea how to count up the change in my head. I just trusted that everyone was being honest.

  What’s it like working as a team to write the World’s Greatest Underachiever books?

  We have the most wonderful time working together. Lin sits at the computer, and I walk in a circle in front of her desk. If I start talking like the characters, Lin kindly types it in because I don’t use a computer. Or, she’ll tell me to stop for minute because she’s got a great idea and her fingers fly across the keyboard. Sometimes, I’ll write my chapters in long hand and Lin will transcribe them and correct my spelling. When the book is done, we both go over it to see if we’ve left anything out, or perhaps we’ll find a better joke for one of the characters or better action in a scene. When it’s completely done, we send it to our editor, and she sends back her notes that we then incorporate.

  Did you always want to be an author?

  Until the day that I met Lin Oliver for lunch in 2002, I never thought about being an author for one minute in my whole life.

  How long does it take you to write a book?

  It usually takes about two months to write the first draft of a book. Lin and I meet in her office and create the outline for the story of the book and then, two months later, we have a 153-page adventure about Hank Zipzer.

  Which of your books do you like the best?

  I cannot pick one book that I like the best. Each one of them is like my own child. Each one of them has some great detail that makes me laugh every time I think about it.

  The World’s Greatest Underachiever series

  The World’s Greatest Underachiever

  Takes on the Universe

  (Bind-up of The World’s Greatest Underachiever and the Crazy Classroom Cascade

  and The World’s Greatest Underachiever and the Crunchy Pickle Disaster)

  The World’s Greatest Underachiever

  and the Crazy Classroom Cascade

  The World’s Greatest Underachiever

  and the Crunchy Pickle Disaster

  The World’s Greatest Underachiever

  and the Mutant Moth

  The World’s Greatest Underachiever

  and the Lucky Monkey Socks

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the

  product of the authors’ imagination or, if real, used fictitiously.

  All statements, activities, stunts, descriptions, information and material

  of any kind contained herein are included for entertainment purposes only and

  should not be relied on for accuracy or replicated as they may result in injury.

  First published in Great Britain

  as Hank Zipzer the World’s Greatest Underachiever: Day of the Iguana (2008)

  by Walker Books Ltd, 87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ

  First published in the United States as

  Hank Zipzer #03: Day of the Iguana (2003)

  by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver. Published by arrangement with Grosset & Dunlap™,

  a division of Penguin Young Readers Group, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  All rights reserved.

  This edition published 2012

  Text © 2003, 2012 Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver Productions, Inc.

  Cover illustration, design and interior illustrations © 2012 Nigel Baines

  The right of Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver to be identified as authors of this work has

  been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted or

  stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means,

  graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, taping

  and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:

  a catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

  ISBN 978-1-4063-3271-1 (ePub)

  www.walker.co.uk