As much as we have gotten into the swing of being back in school, we’ve also had a lot of time off for various holidays in October. As a working mom, this is certainly not easy and has become a part of the great juggle. When I do have downtime with the girls and we aren’t going on mini adventures, I love to slow down and read to them. This is especially important with my five-year-old who just started kindergarten and is now learning how to read herself. One aspect of school that she has been learning about his allergies and how some kids can’t have certain foods, like peanut butter and tree nuts.
To teach her about this important topic we have been the interesting new book, Heroic Henry & the Nutty Bugs. Written by Heather Finn, the wonderful children’s book follows Henry Hutter, a 10-year old boy who loves peanut butter and eats it on everything and for every meal! My daughter could instantly relate to this, as she too, is obsessed with peanut butter. However, during the story we soon learned that Henry’s sister, Maggie, can’t eat peanuts and is allergic to everything ‘nutty.’ This instantly sparked conversation with my daughter as she asked me why. What followed was a concise explanation of the difference of peanuts and tree nuts, which I found was the perfect breakdown for her age.
The book also highlighted what little Henry would have to do when he does want to eat peanut butter, such as clean up and not eat it around her. His mom also explains that he has to be super diligent so that ‘Nutty Bugs’ don’t get Maggie sick. When the Nutty Bugs to visit after a sibling fight, Henry learns about what they can actually do to Maggie if she is exposed to them. I found this part to be extremely helpful and comprehensive as Finn goes through the types of reactions and what to look for. This allowed my daughter to better understand the complex nature of allergies and what to look for if any of her friends with allergies get exposed to peanuts.
A fun and educational books, school-aged kids both with and without allergies will love learning about the Nutty Bugs as a way to understand allergies and how to help others if they should be exposed to peanuts or tree nuts.
For more information, please visit: https://littleharborbooks.com/
I was given a sample for review.
