One Of The Gang: Nurturing the Souls of Children with Food Allergies [Paperback]

Gina Clowes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1434369978 | ISBN-13: 978-1434369970

Families of children with food allergies know that this invisible condition requires constant vigilance. The necessity of keeping these children safe cannot be overstated; however, their emotional well-being is equally important. Food is used in almost every type of celebration, and is often a focal point of these events. Even in day-to-day life, food is everywhere. Children who have food allergies may be excluded from many of these activities. Some seem to take it in stride, while others feel varying degrees of sadness, anger, or fear. This book was meant to shed light on the emotional side and to help children cope with these challenges. It also serves as a reminder that even though this condition must be managed on a daily basis, it need not stop them from enjoying a wonderful life and becoming everything they were meant to be. I hope this book will validate the feelings these children may have and encourage them to talk about them. It is also my sincere desire that some of the words and photographs will allow others a glimpse at the way that these children experience the world. Maybe next time, you will be one of the grown-ups who allow an allergic child to be ?one of the gang!?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gina Clowes is the Founder of the online support group AllergyMoms serving thousands of families and professional members worldwide. Active in food allergy advocacy, her interviews and parenting tips have appeared in numerous print, radio, and television features including People and Child Magazine. Gina lives in Southwestern Pennsylvania with her husband and two sons.For more information, please visit www.allergymoms.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 44 pages
• Publisher: AuthorHouse (September 26, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434369978
• ISBN-13: 978-1434369970
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 8.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #906,274 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The cover alone says it all!, November 16, 2008

By 

M. L. Acebal (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Of The Gang: Nurturing the Souls of Children with Food Allergies (Paperback)

I love this book! As the parent of a food-allergic[...] and the director of a nonprofit whose mission is to educate schools on food allergy safety [...], I see first-hand how important it is to not lose sight of our kids' emotional well-being. Often, we focus exclusively on the medical side of food allergies, doing all we can to prevent a potentially life-threatening reaction and to prepare others for how to deal with a reaction should one occur. This wonderful book reminds us what it feels like to just want to be "one of the gang," all the while maintaining a postive, "can do" attitude. Ms. Clowes' book is an excellent resource for families, schools, and camps alike.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars #1 Book for Children with Food Allergies, October 17, 2008

By 

Peanut Allergy Mom - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Of The Gang: Nurturing the Souls of Children with Food Allergies (Paperback)

If you buy only one book for your food allergic child, get this one!
It does it all.

It shows kids what they need to do to without scaring them:

Bringing their own snack to school
Not sharing food
Bringing their own treat to birthday parties

The BEST parts are the pictures of real food allergic adults!

SuperBowl Champ Jerome Bettis
Miss USA
NHL Hockey Star Tom Poti
ABC News Anchor Lori Stokes
Dr Robert Wood (famous allergist) etc.

Kids will love knowing that these successful adults have food alleriges just like they do!

This book is also a clever tool for teachers, relatives and other caregivers because it shows how including these kids (with peanut allergy or other food allergies) can make their day. (Excluding them is hurtful)

The pictures show how good it feels to be "One of the Gang" and this is something that every parent wants for their child.

If you want your food allergic child to be as happy and resiliant as possible, I'd highly recommend this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book, November 6, 2008

By 

Cindy (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Of The Gang: Nurturing the Souls of Children with Food Allergies (Paperback)

My daughter (almost 8 yrs old) absolutely loved this book. We just purchased this book last week, the beautiful color photos capture exactly how our children feel, when they are faced with an issue that makes them feel different. My daughter deals with both the allergies and eczema issues, and we had found this book to be uplifting and so encouraging, while creating a great sense of awareness to others around children with these issues. My daughter had chosen to bring this book to share with her classmates during her star of the week, which she could of chose any book to bring in, and it touched on the feelings that she deals with while having these issues but in a uplifting way. This was the book she wanted to share. Her teacher read the book to the class, and found it to be a great tool to provide awareness and educate the other children on how children may feel, when they cannot eat the same foods as others, or perhaps other issues that may make them feel different however they are just like everyone else. The teacher commented to me that the children were really pleasantly surprised to see such adults as Jerome Bettis and Tom Poti also deal with food allergies.
I highly recommend "One of the Gang" It's a great book for children of all ages.