Customer Reviews

Allie the Allergic Elephant : A Children's Story of Peanut Allergies

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a great book for explaining food allergies to all children. My children do not have food allergies but this book did a wonderful job of explaining how serious they can be! My three-year-old was able to grasp the concept that some foods can make other children sick and should not be shared. And my seven-year-old was surprised to learn all the foods which "hide" peanuts. In addition to being educational, this is an enjoyable and humorous book that my youngest child chooses at bedtime again and again.

I bought the first edition for my nephew with a peanut allergy. He enjoyed it because it addressed his difficulty in explaining his allergy to his classmates.

I bought 2 copies of the second edition and donated them to elementary schools where I volunteer in the library. Both librarians were excited to receive the book and were anxious to read it to their students. One librarian took the book immediately to the Kindergarten teacher because a student had arrived that day with a peanut allergy.

I like the book because it explains how an allergic child must be "excluded" when it pertains to peanuts, but wants to be "included" in everything else. I can't wait for the author to write more books about other allergies.

awesome book! zeroes in on the key parts of having an allergy! great book to read to little kids. I personally have a life threatening allergy to peanuts and all tree nuts. thank you for your time.

As a mother of 2 little girls with severe peanut and tree nut allergies, I thought this book would be perfect to bring to school to help teach her class about food allergies. I have to say that I am surprised that the author, who has a severely allergic son of her own, was so irresponsible in how she wrote this book. The book repeatedly explains how Allie wants to eat peanuts so badly and be like the other elephants who ALL eat peanuts. It says how her friends all feel so bad for her. This isn't the attitude I want to enforce in my girls or their friends. The worst part of the book is that there are pages dedicated to showing the types of reactions Allie can have with funny illustrations with "Oh no... Allie is having hives from the peanuts! Do you want to see Allie get hives?" Only after 5 similar pages of reactions does it say... "Or would you rather see Allie stay healthy and happy?" It's really ridiculous and irresponsible to give children a reason to wonder what reactions look like and if they'd like to watch a friend go through them! Allie is shown refusing peanuts from a friend but only asking if there's peanuts in other foods. Children must be taught to never take food from friends when the suffer severe food allergies, not just ask another 5 year old if there's peanuts! The book even ends with "Allie just wants to be a normal elephant..." Um, my daughters are normal, they just deal with a food allergy. How can a mom of a severely allergic child think this book sends a great message? Wow. I most certainly won't be reading it to my daughter's class! I DO however recommend "Food Allergies and Me" by Juniper Skinner which I ordered at the same time as this book. It truly has all the right lessons and sends the right messages to allergic children and their friends!

I bought the 1st edition over a year ago and the teacher in his classroom has said that the children love it. They like to hear it read to them. They love the pictures! She said after a year it was well used as they play with it alot. A book needs to hold up with kids at this age. I just purchased the 2nd edition feeling that it was different enough to own it. I am glad I did. The pictures have changed a bit and look wonderful, but the message is still excellent and kids can understand it. Most messages are lost with kids at this age when dealing with serious issues such as food allergies. Geat job! Even though the book is 100% focused on peanut allergies, which is why I got it, the rules remains the same with all food allergies in how they relate to other children playing with the children with the food allergy. I would recommend any parent that has a pre-schooler or a child in K-5 or thier school to buy this book!

My 2 and 4 yr old love this as they are both allergic. It helps them fully understand the reactions they could get and what foods can cause the reactions just like Allie the elephant.

Thank you

This really helped me to explain to my two-year-old how to say "no" to peanuts. She reads it over and over.

I purchased this book as a gift for a friend with an allergic grandchild. He told me it was a special delight to read the book together with his grandson. The story is charming, and effectively communicates an important message about acceptance and coping... in a way even a very young child can grasp. The wonderful illustrations (by a gifted young artist) captured the boy's imagination and brought the story to life.

I bought this book to improve my five year old's classmates' understanding of her peanut allergy. It helped me introduce the idea of a peanut safe environment in her school and explain to her classmates why a peanut-safe environment was important for my daughter's health. It is a great book for young children with clear illustrations and an interesting character.

Excellent book. My son is only 19 months and I don't know how long it will be before he truly understands his allergy but he loves this book. When we read it to him he wants it over and over.