This book is written in the form of letters, postcards and greeting cards! It is the correspondence of a little boy, named Max and his favorite author D.J. Lucas (Dorothy Jane Lucas, that is :)) and you get to see as the two come to have a bond and a relationship through the advice and the help they give to each other through their written words. All in all, its a nice book. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to read alone for a child if they can make out the words okay. If read aloud in a group, then I would reccomend pausing every 5-7 letters to make sure everyone is keeping up with what is happening.