Book Review: The Girl Who Cannot Eat Peanut Butter

Having a child with a severe peanut allergy can be difficult and terrifying.  I am always afraid that Bean will accidentally eat something containing peanuts, while she is away from my husband or myself.  I also worry about what her peanut allergy does to her emotionally.  Does she feel different because she has to sit at the peanut free table?  Does she feel left out or get teased?  I hope not, but you never know what’s going through a child’s mind.

The Girl Who Cannot Eat Peanut Butter was written by Sharon Chisvin, and is a rhyming story for children about food allergies.  It has cute and colorful illustrations by Carol Leszcz.  The Girl Who Cannot Eat Peanut Butter is a short read with only 20 pages, but shares a big message. What I love about this book is not only does the book address general food allergy information, but it also focuses on the positive aspects of food allergies too.  It is a fun and enjoyable read that explains how all children are special in their own way.  It also focuses on the positive aspect of having a food allergy, like bringing yummy lunches to school every day!  I highly recommend this book to schools, day cares, or anyone who has a child with a food allergy!

Here are a couple of my favorite excerpts from the book

“But then she is reminded that everyone in class

Has something special or different that no one else has”

“Every day at noon Sam has such good lunches

That the other kids gather ’round her in bunches”

I am not the only one who loves this book.  The Girl Who Cannot Eat Peanut Butter has recently been added to the Kids with Food Allergies Foundation Resource List!   You can purchase The Girl Who Cannot Eat Peanut Butter  at http://www.allergypicturebook.com/ for $9.95 or on Amazon.com for $9.95

Right now the Kindle version on Amazon is only 99 cents!  You can also find them on Facebook by clicking here.

My daughter loves this book. She said, “I really liked reading how everyone is different.  I also liked reading all the lunches Sam gets to bring to school, even though some of them sounded yucky.  I don’t think Sam really eats them though, and the writer was just trying to be funny.”

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of THE GIRL WHO CANNOT EAT PEANUT BUTTER to review, however the thoughts and opinions posted here are my own, and were in no way influenced.

Book Review: The Princess and the Peanut Allergy

The Princess and the Peanut Allergy is a book written by Wendy McClure.  It is a wonderful story of a little girl named Paula who has a peanut allergy.  Her best friend, Regina, is having a princess birthday party with a beautiful birthday cake… that contains peanuts.  Regina and Paula both get upset and have some hurt feelings at first, but the ending is very sweet and heart warming.

The Princess and the Peanut Allergy  is a very cute book with a fairy-tale, birthday party, and princess story line – all a young girls favorite.  It has a realistic situation, that any little girl with a peanut allergy could run into.

My daughter, Bean, loved this book!

I asked her for her what she thought about it, and she said, “I like it because I am just like Paula.  I couldn’t eat the cake either, and would feel sad too.”  She identified with the character and the situation.  She liked it so much that she wrote about it in her journal on Friday at school, and her teacher suggested that she read it in front of the entire class on Monday.  Friday night my parents kept my girls overnight, so we could go out for our 11th anniversary.  She took the book with her and read it to her grandparents too.  Then, on Monday she read it to her class.  She said she was nervous at first, but then “took a deep breath” and read it.  She said everyone clapped, and the teacher allowed the children to ask her some questions about her peanut allergy.  A few children did ask questions.  I love how this allowed the other children to get a little better understanding about peanut allergies and how very serious they are.

It has colorful, and cute illustrations, and a good story line. The Princess and the Peanut Allergy effectively addresses some of the social issues that children with food allergies face. “You’re not invited to my birthday party,” is the most painful words a young child can hear from a friend. These two girls figure out a way to get past this though.  I did find it odd that Paula’s best friend, didn’t know she had a peanut allergy.  However, it didn’t seem to make any difference to my daughter.  She didn’t question it at all.  She liked the book so much that she made a The Princess and the Peanut Allergy book mark!

It can be purchased here online at Amazon.com

Disclosure: A review copy was provided by the publisher. All opinions are my own and my daughters, and were in no way influenced by anyone else.