Dining out… it sounds relaxing. Unless your child has been newly diagnosed with a food allergy or an autoimmune disease. Then, you’re required to play food detective. When what you eat can truly be a matter of life or death, parents and kids with food issues need all the resources they can get. Here are some good books for kids for whom reading the food label is an important part of life:
Written by Gloria Koster and illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
Albert Whitman and Co., 2006
32 pages, picture book
Ages 4-8
Finally, a book about food allergies that doesn’t focus on the child with the problem! Simon brings peanut butter sandwiches for lunch every day – it’s one of the only four foods he’ll eat. When Grant comes to Nutley School, the principal creates a Peanut-Free Café to help Grant with his peanut allergy. The Peanut-Free Café is so much fun, and Simon wants to go, but he will have to give up his peanut butter sandwich to get in. Simon decides to try new, nut-free foods at school and enjoy peanut butter at home. With fun illustrations and a great story, this is the best book for kids I’ve seen about peanut allergies.
Written by the Sicherer, illustrated by Mariel C. Furlong
The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, 2001
28 pages, picture book
Ages 4-8
This book comes from a great resource for food allergy awareness, The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. It was written by Dr. Scott H. Sicherer, a researcher and medical advisor, and his family. Kim is frustrated by the itchy eczema that flares up if she has egg or milk products. Robbie teases her about her rash, and when Robbie is assigned to be Kim’s partner in gymnastics, Kim is desperate to make the eczema go away. With baths, creams, and watching what she eats, Kim is ready for her gymnastics show.
Written by Bonnie J. Kruszka, illustrated by Richard S. Cihlar
Woodbine House, 2004
32 pages, picture book
Ages 4 and up
This simple picture book is a great way to explain celiac disease to young kids. Emily tells about some of her symptoms (big belly, diarrhea, mood swings) before her diagnosis (blood tests and a hospital room filled with balloons and a smiling nurse) and how her body wasn’t getting the good stuff it needed from food because of her reaction to gluten. She lists some things she can’t eat, and lots of things she can. At restaurants, Emily and her mom ask lots of questions about ingredients because they are “gluten detectives.” Although she admits there are bad days when everyone at school has cookies she can’t eat, Emily makes having celiac disease sound very manageable, which is exactly the message we want for our kids.
Written by Melissa London, illustrated by Eric Glickman
Woodbine House, 2005
64 pages, picture book
Ages 9-12
The illustrations and conversational tone make this book so fun to read! Written and illustrated by a mom and dad team after their daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease at age eleven, “The GF Kid” is full of really useful information. There are resources for gluten-free food companies, books, magazines, support groups, websites, even recipes! Paris, the star of this book, explains how the autoimmune disease affects her body and how managing it involves always checking food labels. She lists safe and forbidden foods and ingredients with the reminder to call companies when in doubt. Even those of us who don’t have kids with celiac disease will benefit from this book because “approximately 1 in every 133 people has celiac disease. That’s like millions of people!” Thanks, Paris!
Many of us know and love a child with autism. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development states that as many as one in 500 people
are affected with some form of autism. Research continues to shed light on this neurodevelopmental disorder, but statistics and data don’t help our young people understand kids with autism. Hopefully some of the following books will.
Written by Cynthia Lord
Scholastic, 2006
200 pages, middle-school novel
Ages 9-12
“No toys in the fish tank.”
“A boy can take off his shirt to swim, but not his shorts.”
“Say thank you when someone gives you a present (even if you don't like it)."
The world is full of rule\s that many kids pick up easily, but David is not one of those kids. David has autism. His twelve-year-old sister, Catherine, keeps a notebook full of the rules of life for him “so if my someday-he’ll-wake-up-a-regular-brother wish doesn’t ever come true, at least he’ll know how the world works, and I won’t have to keep explaining things.” While David attends therapy, Catherine develops a relationship with Jason, a young man who uses a wheelchair and communicates by pointing to word cards. Cynthia Lord, a behavioral specialist and mother of a child with autism, gives a sincere, funny, straight-forward look into Catherine’s mixed feelings over her brother, Jason, and life as a pre-teen girl.
Written by Lesley Ely, illustrated by Polly Dunbar
Albert Whitman & Co., 2004
32 pages, picture book
Ages 5-9
The interesting art, age-appropriate text and the matter-of-fact tone set “Looking After Louis” apart from many picture books on autism. Louis has autism and is successful in a mainstreamed classroom. The kids in his class recognize that Louis is “not quite like the rest of us” and work to include him at his comfort level. When Louis is allowed extra playtime outside, the main character realizes, after a moment of jealousy, that sometimes “’we’re allowed to break rules for special people.’” The story doesn’t use the word autism, but the note at the back by a clinical psychologist gives more information about the disorder and about mainstreaming. Finally, a fun picture book about inclusion that isn’t heavy-handed in its message of compassion.
Written by Laurie Lears, illustrated by Karen Ritz
Albert Whitman and Co., 1998
32 pages, picture book
Ages 5 and up
This simple story about big sisters taking their little brother for a walk gives readers a familiar context in which to understand autism. Ian, like most kids, wants to go to the park, and along the way, his sister explains how his experiences are different than other kids’. Ian would rather watch the fan spin in the diner than watch waitresses bring ice cream; he’d rather press his cheek against the ground than feel the tickle of a feather. His sisters show an understandable range of emotion for caregiving siblings, from exasperation to patience, but the overall tone is one of appreciation and the art is wonderful. It’s a lovely book to introduce autism to younger kids.
Written by Annie Bryant
B*tween Productions, 2006
233 pages, middle-school novel
Ages 10 – 14
This series is a welcome rarity for “tween” girls, with a leading character dealing with learning disabilities and a minor character with autism. Kelley’s autism sometimes leads to behavior that can be embarrassing in public, but the other characters all treat Kelley with love and understanding. In this book, Kelley’s therapist recommends hippotherapy, so Kelley and her sister Katani are off to the stables. The explanations of hippotherapy and autism are sensitive, straight-forward, and age-appropriate. It’s a good series for any tween girl, but especially for those who know someone with autism.
We all want to be understood and heard. How frustrating it must be for a child when verbal communication is difficult, and especially when he or she is teased because of it. With an estimated one out of every 10 people in the U.S. affected by a speech, language or hearing disorder, no child should ever feel they are the only one struggling with such difficulties.
A good book can show kids that they are not alone. Here are several for little ones struggling with speech issues:
Written by Davene Fahy and illustrated by Carol Inouye
Limerock Books, 2004
32 pages, picture book
Ages 4-8
Charlie is a frustrated five-year old who is teased because he can't correctly pronounce his name. With help from speech therapy through his school, Charlie learns to speak clearly. Written by an ASHA certified speech therapist, this is an excellent book for young children involved in speech therapy.
Written by Helen Lester and illustrated by Lynn Munsinger
Houghton Mifflin, 1999
32 pages, picture book
Ages 4-8
Poor Wodney.
Wodney Wat is really Rodney Rat, a rodent who has difficulty pronouncing his r's. The other rodents at school tease him because of the way he talks, and Wodney retreats by hiding in his jacket and keeping to himself. When a big new bully, Camilla Capybara, comes to school, Wodney is scared, especially when he is chosen to lead the class in a game of Simon Says. What will happen when Camilla hears the way Wodney talks?
In a wonderful twist of fate, it is Wodney's speech impediment that saves the day, and rids the school of the bully forever. The art and language are very kid-friendly. It is a fantastic picture book for any child who feels self-conscious about his or her speech.
Written by Lesli Mitchell and illustrated by Ramon Gil
DRL Books, 2001
32 pages, picture book
Ages Birth-4
Party Train encourages speech in young children with large print, repetition of words, and bright pictures. Children are asked to participate with more expressive words as the story unfolds. Written by the mother of an autistic child, it is geared toward young children with developmental delays.
Written and illustrated by David Small
Crown Publishers, Inc., 1992
32 pages, picture book
Ages 5-8
This funny, sweet picture book is great for kids to realize that even grown-ups sometimes find it difficult to make themselves understood.
Ruby Mae Foote wants to deliver her message of universal peace and understanding to the world, but she often finds herself tongue-tied. She switches letters in words accidentally or babbles, and no one pays her message any attention. Her nephew's invention helps her speak clearly, and she is able to tell the world that the message is more important than the way it is delivered.
Sometimes the world defines our children by what they can’t do rather than by what they can. Here are four books that focus on the person rather than just the physical disability:
Written by Jamee Riggio Heelan, OTR/L and illustrated by Nicola Simmonds
Peachtree Publishers, 2000
32 pages, picture book
Ages 3 - 8
Occupational therapist Jamee Riggio Heelan wrote a very straightforward book about a toddler getting a prosthetic or “helper” hand. Madison is a toddler born with only one hand, and this book details the entire experience of going to the doctor, getting fitted for the hand, making the cast and the prosthesis, and learning to use the hand in occupational therapy. Diagrams and shaded photographs help explain what some helper hands look like and how they work. Its instructive style should be helpful for readers who will be going through the process or know someone who uses a prosthesis.
Written by Terry Trueman
HarperCollins, 2000
114 pages, young adult novel
Ages 13– 16
This powerful, award-winning novel brings up the issues of euthanasia and the assumptions we make about people with disabilities. Shawn is a teenage boy with profound cerebral palsy--and gifted with the ability to remember perfectly everything he hears. He has no control over any of his muscles, so he can’t communicate to the rest of the world just how aware and smart he actually is. As he puts it, “I am in here. I’m just sort of stuck in neutral.” Shawn’s vegetative state and frequent grand mal seizures are too much for his father to bear, and as much as he loves his son, Shawn’s father contemplates ending his son’s pain by ending his life. Neither his father nor anyone else has any idea about the real life Shawn lives and enjoys. Stuck in Neutral makes the reader question what we know and what we think we know about disabilities and the value of life.
Written by Rodman Philbrick
Blue Sky Press, 1993
176 pages, middle school – young adult novel
Ages 10 – 14
Philbrick gives us a compelling story about two boys who make an unforgettable team. Kevin, or Freak, is an incredibly bright twelve-year old with a birth defect that keeps his body small and crutch-dependent. His neighbor, Max, built like an ox, is struggling with learning difficulties, the death of his mother, and his imprisoned father. Together, they are Freak the Mighty, and when Kevin rides on Max’s shoulders on their quests to do noble deeds, they feel unstoppable. This is a beautiful story of give and take, and of expanding our definitions of ourselves.
Written by Jeanne Willis and illustrated by Tony Ross
Henry Holt and Co., 2000
36 pages, picture book
Ages 4 - 8
Colorful pictures and rhyming text make this book accessible to any preschooler. Susan is a smiling, red-haired little girl who can do lots of things, like paint, swing, swim, and sing. It isn’t until the last illustration that we find out she uses a wheelchair. This book focuses on what Susan can do, not what limits her. Susan shares all the feelings and experiences common to most young ones, so readers will get the understated yet clear message of the text on the last page: “This is Susan, through and through - just like me, just like you.”
Kim Learns How to Take Care of Herself
