Friday, September 19, 2008

Abby the Alley Cat


As I've mentioned before, children's books about allergies--especially dairy allergies--are not very common. Children's books about allergies that my kids actually enjoy reading are even more rare. So I am pleased that they like Abby the Alley Cat: Staying Safe From Dairy! by Myronie and Sam McKee. First-grader Katherine finds the Seuss-esque rhyme scheme and repeating refrain ("Staying safe from dairy is my goal/So I will not touch it with a 10-foot pole!") easy to read, and two-year-old Eli likes the cute drawings by illustrator Adi Rom. I like the positive, upbeat message and the allergy-related information for parents included in the back of the book.

In addition to the book, there is also a video available for purchase. It is done in a Reading Rainbow style; the narrator reads the story while the camera pans in and out over the book's illustrations.

At $12.99 for the book ($11.66 currently on Amazon), the price is steep, but I would recommend Abby the Alley Cat for allergic children, especially those with dairy allergies. The video download is $2.99. And, according to the authors' website, 10% of the profits go towards helping children with food allergies.

This review was written for Go Dairy Free.

6 comments:

  1. Excellent!
    I'm putting this on my list to get for Belle. It is so tough being little and not being able to have certain foods. We only just discovered her Dairy issues - but they were on the heels of her brother needing to go gluten and casein free - so at least I was "equipped" with foods already that are safe and I know how to navigate an ingredients list. Now that she is in preschool it is tougher but there is another child in her class that is No Dairy also - even it is a "yucky boy" (her words).

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  2. Oh thank you for the review. I put it on my list to get Kayla. We have Cody the Allergic Cow and she loves that one. I may get one for her school too.

    I can't wait to get it and read it to her.

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  3. Maybe YOU should write a more "palatable" book. Betcha could!

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  4. I have never heard of allergy books for kids. My daughter has quite a few allergies...thanks for sharing and I will check them out!
    -Sandy Toes

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  5. Someone else had a problem at one point. For some reasons Feedburner doesn't recognize my url directly. But I think if you put in one of these, it will accept it. Let me know if it works...

    http://jabberwalkiejoke.blogspot.com/atom.xml

    or

    http://jabberwalkiejoke.blogspot.com/rss.xml

    I ordered the book today - it should come in later this coming week. :)

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