The Peanut Butter Jam [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Sussman Nassau (Author), Margot Janet Ott (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 21, 2001 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Sam's in a jam when his classmates work on a project using peanut butter. Sam is allergic to peanuts! This delightful story promotes understanding, tolerance and sensitivity to the seriousness of allergies. 8 1/2 x 11, 32 pages, four color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

...a life-like account of what happens during an anaphylactic reaction to peanut and how well-prepared schools should respond. -- Hugh A. Sampson, MD, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine

The Food Allergy Initiative ... hopes that readers will better understand the challenges that face food-allergic children... -- Food Allergy Initiative

About the Author

The Peanut Butter Jam is written by Elizabeth Sussman Nassau, the mother of a son who has a severe allergy to peanuts. A free-lance writer, she was motivated by the lack of current books and information to explain the severity of allergic reactions and the pressures associated with this condition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Health Press (NM) (June 21, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 092917335X
• ISBN-13: 978-0929173351
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #702,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Helpful for kids, June 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Peanut Butter Jam (Hardcover)

This book really helped our son. I was so glad to find it given his allergy and he easily related to the child in the book. The story describes a realistic situation of a kid taking a dare and the consequences that could result. What was really great about it is that we were able to use the story as a good starting point to talk with our son about well intentioned, or not, friends and adults and what he can and should do in different situations. (It is amazing how many times we've encountered people that think, "Just one little peanut can't hurt.") We ended up giving a copy to our son's teacher who used it in his classroom.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars From a kid whose been there, done that, May 22, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Peanut Butter Jam (Hardcover)

I've read this book and i'm a little bit disturbed by this book. I'm a twelve year old boy with severe peanut allergies. I'll admit i was a little bit of an outkast, but not because of my allergy! and i think that every peanut-allergic [allergic to anything for that matter] kindergartener has thought about eating or trying to eat peanuts. and this book ENCOURAGES it! i think that's a little dumb. thank you for your time.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Potentially Dangerous Book, November 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Peanut Butter Jam (Hardcover)

I have bought several books to help my son deal with his life-threatening peanut allergy, but I haven't given this one to him yet. I don't know if I will, for several reasons that I'll describe later in this review.

At the beginning of the story, Sam (a boy who's allergic to peanuts) is shown as an outcast. He has to sit by himself, pouring birdseed and counting laces, while his classmates make bird feeders with peanut butter. Another child teases him because of this, so Sam decides to try ignoring his doctor's advice (to not touch peanut butter, which can kill him) by making a bird feeder. He has a horrible reaction, and ends up having to go to the hospital. After he gets better and returns to school, the other kids (including the bully who teased him) suddenly accept him and treat him much better. The bully even invites Sam to his house after school, as if they're now best friends! All of Sam's problems seem magically solved because he made himself have a reaction in front of the other kids.

Here are my concerns. First, this book shows a peanut-allergic child who's basically treated like an outcast (by the teacher, and by the other kids) because of his allergy. The teacher plans activities that don't include him, and the other kids tease him because of it. He probably wouldn't have been teased if the teacher had planned a safer craft activity that included him. Second, the front cover also shows Sam as an outcast, sitting all by himself at lunchtime while the other kids eat pb&j and shoot straw wrappers at him. In other words, this book seems to say that kids with peanut allergies WILL be treated like outcasts at school by both the kids and the teachers. Third, and most important, the only way Sam finally gets acceptance from his classmates is by causing himself to have a life-threatening reaction in front of the other kids. If an impressionable child reads this book, he/she might think that this would be a great way to get other kids to accept him/her and stop teasing ... just touch or eat some peanut butter, have a reaction, and voila, instant acceptance! Obviously, this is a very dangerous idea to plant into a child's mind.

I know that the author was trying to educate folks about nut allergies, which I appreciate, but I strongly prefer the other kids' books I have found on this subject .... They are far more positive and helpful.