Meet Langston Longwordsworth, a kid who isn't afraid of much at all-not rats, bats, bugs, or even most girls. But there is one thing this budding young reader is afraid of. Langston Longwordsworth is afraid of words! Oh, not words like "ball" or "run" or even "jumping." Those words are easy for him to read. It is when Langston encounters words he doesn't know that the trouble begins.

Langston employs a number of tricks at school to avoid having to read words that are unfamiliar to him. At home, he simply shoves the books under his bed. (His mattress is taking on a funny shape from all the literary works there!)

Find out what happens when Langston receives a book he just has to read only to encounter a word he does not know on the first page! Will Langston overcome his fear of unfamiliar words, or is he destined to sleep on a funny-shaped mattress forever?

Teachers will appreciate this story as a springboard for lessons on decoding multisyllabic words. Parents will enjoy sharing with their little ones their own reading journey and brushes with unfamiliar words. Children will delight in the all-too-relatable Langston Longwordsworth as he triumphs over the formerly formidable words he feared.