Customer Reviews

The Peanut Butter Jam

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Here's the story: a severely peanut-allergic young boy is subjected to sitting in the corner to do something boring while the rest of the class has fun rolling ice-cream cones in peanut butter and bird seed to make bird feeders. There seems to be no teacher present in the room while one of the classmates teases the boy and prompts him to touch peanut butter (then the teacher arrives to wash his hands) and go into anaphylactic shock. This is followed by an illustration of a dripping (scary) old-fashioned hypodermic needle, not his own Epi-pen, a trip to the nurse and hospital. If you live in a backward school system where this scenario could still happen, buy this book. If you don't, it should be framed in the context of "how things used to be" (like 'special' classes for people with disabilities or segregated schools) so as not to create fear in your child that their teachers and school could ever be so insensitive to their safety and full participation. There is no acknowledgement that the teacher was wrong in conducting this craft which was not only life-threatening, but fostered the ridicule that the allergic child was subjected to. If your child is starting school and you want them to trust their teacher as an advocate and protector, this book will raise grave doubts. The story would have been so much better if it had revolved around a contemporary lunchtime situation or classroom celebration. Well-intended, but 10 years out-of-date.

This book helped a friend's five year old better understand her peanut allergy. She liked the bright pictures and identified with the main character, whose allergy to peanuts made him feel alone until he learned to deal with it. I've read reader reviews, and it seems that kids either love this book or are afraid of its depiction of an anaphylactic reaction. I think a lot of the reaction may depend upon the parent, and on the way he or she presents the message. For this particular little girl, the book was wonderful. It's a gift I would give again.

This book clearly explaines what happens in a peanut reaction. The reaction occured because the child was teased and decides to do a peanut butter activity. So not only will this book explain what happens in a reaction, it opens discussion about teasing and the seriousness of giving in. I can't wait to share this book with my daughter's teachers and classes.

Horrible book. My son is allergic, and I thought this book would be good to have for him. I was wrong! I will never read it to his class. The book has a bully who teases the allergic boy for not being able to make a craft with peanut butter. I feel that the book gives the wrong message. I think it could give kids ideas.

Engagingly written Elizabeth Sussman Nassau and nicely illustrated by Margot Janet Ott, The Peanut Butter Jam is a very special picturebook for young readers that not only tells an interesting story, but also educates them about the very real and sometimes dangerous problem of food allergies. Foods such as peanuts and peanut butter, among others, can cause a potentially life-threatening reaction to people with severe allergies, as this story of a young boy who gets teased by friends who don't understand demonstrates. A warm and instructive book, The Peanut Butter Jam is very highly recommended reading -- especially for young people who have food allergies or friends with food allergies to such common edibles as soy products, eggs, milk, wheat, fish, etc.

The Peanut Butter Jam is a good book for elementary aged children. I bought it for my three year old son who has food allergies including nuts. He was able to sit through it and understand it but, I think the concepts are a little bit to scary. For all long while we have discussed his allergies and he knows that certain foods make him react. When he was two we visited the local ambulance corps in case he has an anaphalactic reaction and we talk about using an epi pen. The book demonstrates all of that and the emotional aspects of being different and left out from some activities at school.

I cannot say enough about this book. I purchased this book because my niece has an allergy to peanuts. During a sleep over she wanted to share the book with her friends. Ater our reading of the book I began to realize that not one of her friends understood what it meant to have this type allergy untill the book was read to them. This was a wonderful learning experience for us all. Not only is this book informative but it has fabulous color illustrations that you absolutely do not want to miss. This book needs to be in all schools as it is certainly a learning tool. I highly reccomend that parents consider buying this book .