Children's Book Review - "The Peanut-Free Cafe"

We went to our local small town library the other day to pick up some books and videos to pass the days. Michael loves sharks, so we cleared the library out of any book with cool pictures of sharks. (Did you know that I leopard shark is a dogfish??) Conor is actually starting to read, but he picks his books based on whether there is red on the cover. Natalie can memorize anything, but gets books with pretty girly stuff and pictures, and if it was up to her she would take out all the issues of Vogue. (When she was 3 she told me she wanted a princess bra. Boy am I in trouble!!)

So while we were at the library perusing our selections I noticed the book, "The Peanut-Free Cafe" on the bookshelf. I have to say this was a wonderful surprise, and I am so glad our local library actually has books for kids on peanut allergies. Of course I checked it out, and took it home to read with everyone.

The book tells the story of a boy named Simon who likes only four foods: grapes, bagels, purple lollipops, and peanut butter, and there's nothing else in his lunch box. One day, Grant comes to Simon's school, the Nutley school and his peanut allergy necessitates his sitting alone during lunch. When offered a bite of peanut butter, Grant explains to his new friends that even a little bit of a peanut can make Grant so sick he has to get a shot or he might not be able to breath. The principal tries to come up with a plan so that kids will join Grant, but it's Simon's idea to turn Grant's table into something fun. Thus the Peanut-Free Cafe is born, complete with movies and crafts. Simon, however, is not among the participants; he doesn't want to give up his peanut butter, the price of admission to the cafe. In the end, of course, Simon extends his menu (to include chili) so he can join the group, and sit with everyone else at the Peanut Free Cafe.

We all really enjoyed this book, and I especially liked that the story is told from the perspective of a non allergic child. My non allergy children really liked this about the book, and I thought it was a clever method of explaining food allergies to a wider audience. I also really liked the way the school situation was reversed, in that everyone wanted to be at the peanut-free cafe, and Simon was excluded, not because he could have peanuts, but because he had to have them.

The best part of this book however was that it really opened the door to a great discussion among my control group of two 5 year olds and one 4 year old. Since Michael and Natalie will be starting kindergarten next week (snif snif my babies are growing up), they were very curious about the way schools handle peanut allergies, and how the people at the school reacted to it.

Although the discussion started from the book was one of the best parts of it, this discussion also brought up some interesting issues about the story that bothered me a bit. I wish Simon had given up peanut butter for lunch not because he wanted to be included with all the other kids at the fun table, but instead because he had really leaned something about how dangerous food allergies could be to others, and how his actions in just eating peanut butter could cause someone else serious harm. I would have liked if he could have some how learned compassion for a friend, and that had motivated him to do without one of his favorite foods. Sometimes I feel annoyed at peoples concept of what it is that involves helping others. People donate money or goods, to help people they have never met, but won't do something as simple as not eat peanut butter for one meal a day to help keep a child at their school safe.

The other thing that bothered me and my control group of 3 was that all Simon needed to do to sit with the other kids was to give up peanut products. It was a choice he could make to be included. In the usual situation the peanut allergic child sits separated at a different peanut free table. He does not have the option of being able to be around peanuts in order to be included at the other tables.

I do have to say however, that if the Nutley School opens a campus in the San Francisco Bay Area, we will be the first students waiting outside to attend.

Food Allergy Cookbooks - My Review

Ok, I am back, and this should be pretty short and sweet because I only own one cookbook out of my entire long and (might I say) impressive list of cook books. I do however like to hear myself type, so you never know how long I am able to talk about this one single food allergy cookbook that sits on a shelf surrounded by cookbooks unlimited in their ingredient lists.



First off let me preface this by saying I didn't cook unless you count heating things up in a microwave cooking. Of course all that changed when our friend Mr. Food Allergy entered the picture.

Mr. Food Allergy

He was an unpleasant sort of guy who kind of snuck up on us, behind our backs when we were least expecting it. He is quite the bully and has no regard for the terms share and take turns. The type of guy you never want to meet in a dark alley, or in that dark area under the slide at the playground. He can be mean and nasty, and downright dangerous. But he had a message for me, a message I had been trying to avoid for all of my 30 plus years................you must now learn to cook, or at least bake - for the sake of your child.





So off I went, in search of some guidance on how to do this. Not only do I not bake or cook, I must now do it without one of the main ingredients required in most baked goods!!!! Eggs!!!! Which came first the baking or the eggs???? The baking!!!! So the panic began. My child needs a safe cake or cupcake! What am I to do, and there are 5 birthday parties coming up in the next week!!! Help!!!!



I never really got a cookbook when I thought we were only allergic to peanuts. It is pretty easy to cook without peanuts, just don't use them. Eggs however were quite a different story. In a panic I disregarded my need for instant gratification and ordered the book Bakin' Without Eggs by Rosemarie Emro. I am so happy I did.


Rosemarie Emro is the mother of a child allergic to eggs and peanuts. I felt an instant camaraderie with her, since her child has exactly the same food allergies as mine. So, I opened the book and scanned the recipes. I am not good with recipes that go on for longer then a page, and have more then 15 or so ingredients. I tend to get confused easily, and add the wrong amount of some sort of ingredients. I once tried to make a cake for a friends wedding from a long and wieldy recipe (before I had this book of course), and kept putting in 3 tablespoons of baking soda instead of teaspoons. Yuck!! Not tasty. Three cakes and lots of crying, screaming, and a tantrum on the floor later, I finally realized my mistake. (The 4th cake came out great though :) )




Anyways, most of the recipes in this book are direct and to the point. The ingredients lists are not too long and unwieldy, and the instructions are easy to follow. I have made many of the recipes in the book, and only had two real disasters which for me is a major accomplishment.(And let me say, they were not pretty - can you say brick???) The recipe for chocolate chip cookies is absolutely wonderful, and I think even tastes better then other homemade chocolate chip cookies with eggs. I have baked many of the cakes, and they too are great. There are also wonderful recipes for scones, pancakes and brownies that have been a great hit at many a party where people did not even suspect they had no egg in them. I was even able to make the brownies in a Christmas tree mold over the holidays, and ta da! unique , fun desert.

So anyways, what I am trying to say in this long (but witty) review, is that this is a great book, and a useful tool for anyone trying not to crack while avoiding eggs.

Children's Book Reviews

Children's Books

We only own two of the children's books, and both are about peanut allergies. There have been many others I would like to get, but I am unfortunatly motivated by instant gratification, and have only been able to find the books online. I am not sure why I acutally ordered these two books, but alas lucky authors I did, and I have almost memorized them since I have read them so many times


Allie the Allergic Elephant
When I first got this book, I thought it was the same book that FAAN sold. Much later I was shocked to discover that Allie was not the only elephant in town allergic to peanuts. Apparently there is also a Alexander who is also peanut allergic. I think the two of them should meet up and talk about the difficulties of not only life as an elephant, but the burdens of life as an elephant allergic to peanuts. It could be a small but productive support group, and perhaps they could work towards removing peanuts from circuses and zoos.

My sweet little peanut allergic child absolutely loves this book. Right now it is his favorite book, and he asks to read it every single night. I like it because it is short and to the point, and covers some of the basic concepts of peanut allergy and the symptoms of anaphalyxis without being scary. Conor likes all the funny animals in the pictures, and the medical alert ad in the back with the cool red medical alert bracelet he wants for his birthday. He likes that Allie wears a medical alert bracelet, and her parents carry an epipen, but is very concerned about whether elephants really wear bracelets in real life. I think next time we go to the zoo he is going to be checking out the elephants and looking whether it is really possible for them to wear bracelets.


Peter Can't Eat Peanuts
I think I ordered this book pretty soon after Conor was diagnosed with his peanut allergy. I am not sure why I picked it, or even where I got it from, but I am very happy I did. This is Conor's second favorite book, and in some ways he relates to it more directly because Peter is a person, and also a boy. While we love Allie to bits, Peter frequently gets comments such as "he is just like me", during readings.

As the title pretty much sums up, the story is about a little boy named Peter, who discovers he is allergic to peanuts. He has a reaction, goes to the hospital, meets a wonderful allergist (named Dr. Sweeter - hhhhhmmmm, perhaps to rhyme with the name Peter????) and learns how to deal with his allergy. I like that this books stresses that Peter did not do anything wrong, having an allergy is just how he is. At the end of the book, Peter is very important going with his mother to meet with the school on how to keep him safe, and this makes him very special. Conor's favorite parts are where Peter is given his first Medical Alert bracelet (no medical alert ad with the cool red bracelet he wants for his birthday in the back though), and that Peter has an epi-pen just like him. Conor also has a cousin named Peter, and we always have to clarify that the boy in the book is not his cousin Peter.

Books - The Good, The Better, and the Best

Ok, I have been meaning to do this forever, but life just seems to get in the way of my good intentions. I even started this once before, but once again my computer played a very mean joke on me, and my brilliant witty post disapeared when I tried to save it. The score is
Computer - 2
Me - 0
We went to visit my parents this weekend, and made the unfortunate discovery that Conor is very very very allergic to cats. So now I am on the lookout for a book entitled Don't touch the cat!!!! or Conor can't play with cats, or even Don't enter a home where a cat might live!!!!! Anyways, enough of my exciting commentary.

We own many of the books on my previous list. Since we are only allergic to peanuts and eggs (and now of course extremly allergic to cats), we have not checked out many of the other books, but I am sure they are very good.

General Books
Food Allergies for Dummies
This is a very good book, and I like the way it is set up. There are nice overview sections for all sorts of different types of food allergies, and even a bit of information about asthma. It would also be good for someone just starting their food allergy journey, as it very simply lays out different types of testing and the differences between intolerences and actual allergies. I also like the cute little light bulbs in the margin, and the fact that it is set up very simply for people like me who on occasion, can be just a bit slow............ But definitly a useful book.

The Peanut Allergy Answer Book

I ordered this book when Conor was first diagnosed, and my allergist at the time said "here is your epi-pen, avoid peanuts, good luck and good by" It is a good overview of peanut allergy, how to avoid, and useful information about such things as airlines, schools, caregivers, etc.

How to Manage your Child's Life Threatening Food Allergies
I also ordered this book when I freaked out when Conor was first diagnosed. This is a great book with really practicle day to day information on how to deal with real life events. She lays out different scenarios such as playdates, and birthday parties, and gives different suggestions on how to deal with them depending on your situation. Also being the mother of a food allergic child, this book really spoke to me on a more personal level, such as, "you are not crazy", "you can learn to live with this, and it will be ok", and "take some deep breaths.." She also has a great appendix in the back with all sorts of information, such as a script to use and leave at your house in case you need to call 911, and information on how to start a support group.