Book Drive

Spring is officially here and I for one am psyched! There’s something about the fresh air and sunshine that actually make me feel more energetic and motivated … to deep clean my house. Yes, I have big plans for Spring Cleaning this year, including some serious purging of surplus toys and books that are scattered about every room of our home.

Which is why I was so excited to learn of the The Half Pint Book Drive currently underway. Across the U.S., Half Price Books stores are working to collect and distribute children’s books to those in need. New and gently used books donated through this program help provide inspiration for children from low-income families, while helping to boost literacy skills outside of school. In many cases, children are getting their first book through the Half Pint program. The drive accepts any type of children’s book, including Spanish language books, as long as they are in good condition. The program is now in its 12th year and has collected more than 2 million books for community centers, special schools and many more children in need.

The Half Pint Book Drive ends March 31st. If you’re like me, I know you have at least a few (or more than a few) children’s books that are worth sharing and passing on. Visit Half Price Books to find a neighborhood drop-off location near you.

Literacy 24/7

Many thanks to my new friends at the Literacy Network for including me in last week's Literacy 24/7 line-up! It was truly a pleasure to be included in such a great event. I met some adorable kids and lost count of all the yummy allergy-friendly cookies I ate provided by Enjoy Life Foods. I highly recommend the Gingerbread Spice ... a must for any pantry, even for families without food allergies!

My favorite part (aside from meeting all the wonderful people who came out to hear a reading of The BugaBees at Willy Street Co-op) was meeting award-winning author Kevin Henkes. His picture books, in a word, are AMAZING and our family absolutely loves them all. It was an honor for me to chat with him a bit, and guess what? He shared with me that while growing up, his brothers had food allergies. Yet again, another reminder that the topic of food allergies is relevant and universal pretty much wherever you go.

Although the week of Literacy 24/7 has come to a close, fundraising for this important cause still continues. The Literacy Network organization is a broad collection of community members comprised of more than 400 volunteers, 1,200 learners and 30 partner agencies working to improve reading, writing and language skills in Dane County. Please consider supporting their noble efforts with a donation today. Open a book. Change a Life. Support literacy programs in your neighborhood.

Read Across America

Happy Read Across America Day! And thanks to all the students at St. Francis Xavier school for a wonderful author visit. One of my favorite things we did in honor of Reading Awareness Month was send cards to the Cat in the Hat in celebration of 50 years of Dr. Seuss. In exchange for every online card the Cat receives until June 30, Random House will donate one book (up to 2 million) to the nonprofit organization First Book. First Book's mission is to give children from low-income families the opportunity to read and own their first new books. Please support their work in communities nationwide, and send the Cat a birthday wish today!

Celebrate!

Bring on the celebrations! During the month of March, not only will I be rejoicing the 40th year of my birth (yes, I said rejoicing), I will also be participating in NEA's Read Across America project.

This signature program, developed by the National Education Association, is building a nation of readers. Now in its thirteenth year, this year-round initiative focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships, and reading resources.

NEA's Read Across America Day takes place each year on or near March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. Across the United States, thousands of schools, libraries, and community centers participate by bringing together kids, teens, and books, and you can too!

On March 2, the National Education Association calls for every child to be reading in the company of a caring adult. So grab your favorite kid, your favorite book, and enjoy some quality time together.

Siblings

My daughter Mollie ends up getting a lot of press regarding her food allergies and involvement with my book The BugaBees, so for now, I’m here to give equal representation to her 3-year-old brother Max – the baby of the family and the apple of my eye! Max is “all boy” as they say, and worships Lightning McQueen, Thomas the Train and Curious George. He also has never been tested for food allergies and I’m thinking it’s about time I do some investigating.

Our doctor tells us because there are so many false-positive results in clinical testing alone, the best way to do so is to just give him peanuts, tree nuts, etc. If he has any sort of reaction, then a clinical test will confirm the presence of a food allergy. Sure. No problem. Except there are lots of problems I can envision, which is probably why I haven’t done anything about this in the last three years of Max’s life. :)

First, I am hyper-sensitive about bringing any peanut/tree nut products into our home, so I’m not really excited about doing a “food challenge” in our kitchen or anywhere else in our house for that matter.

Secondly, Mollie and Max are almost always together. I’m not really sure why I feel the need to protect her from my little experiment with him, but in this case, I feel like less is more. The less obvious it is that Max will be in the next room consuming foods she’s allergic to, the more comfortable I think she will feel in general. (Because lets face, 3-year-olds are not exactly pristine eaters. My kitchen floor and dinner table can prove it.)

Thirdly, WHAT IF HE HAS A HORRIBLE REACTION?!? Yes, I have multiple Epi-pens on hand but somehow, I can’t get psyched up to create a situation where I might very likely need to use one. Plus, we live a good 20 minutes from the nearest hospital, so it’s not looking like that will be happening anytime soon.

What do other parents do? I’m dying to know. For now I’m thinking I might just have to meet him in the back alley near our health care clinic with a Nutter Butter in hand and see what happens.

Book Review: The Sick Bug

For those of us living in colder climates, the seasonal sneezes, sniffles and flu bugs are all unfortunately still alive and well. As such, it is my pleasure to take this timely opportunity to give props to my friend and fellow children's writer, Susie Bazil, author of the adorable book, The Sick Bug. In this delightful award-winning story, little Tess doesn't feel well. When her Mom says she has ''a bug,'' Tess becomes concerned, believing that she may have an actual insect inside her body. Mom goes on to clarify that Tess's type of bug is a ''sick bug,'' and she gives fun and imaginative descriptions of the creatures, explains how they affect a little one's body, and, most importantly, advises how to get rid of them.

This awesome book is definitely a favorite at our house and a highly recommended read for any family with young children! Susie will be among the children's authors featured at the upcoming Midwest Kids Fest on February 13 & 14th in St. Paul, Minnesota. Stop by the Beavers Pond Press booth where she will be signing and selling books at 20% off. (She'll also be happy to sell you a BugaBees: Friends with Food Allergies book at the same discount!)

Fundraiser

My severely allergic 1st grader has just been invited to sell magazines and - you guessed it - NUTS for an upcoming Daisy Scouts' fundraiser. My first reaction while reading the permission slip sent home involved heart palpitations, sweaty palms and an internal dialogue that went something like this: "Why not just have her sell rat poison? Or maybe a nice set of steak knives? How about some guns and amo?"

Then a few days passed, and I asked myself why I didn't have this sort of reaction when she sold Girl Scout cookies just a few months before. In that situation more than half the choices contained peanuts or traces of them, and yet, she took and distributed those orders just fine. We discussed proper handling of the boxes well in advance of their arrival and she was very clear about which cookies were safe for her to eat and which were not. She did a great job.

So why am I freaking out now? I've read articles about some children who actually have full blown anxiety attacks at mere sight of the word "peanut" or whatever it is they're allergic to. Is this what's happening to me? When parents are told by a physician "your child could die if they eat {fill in food allergen here}, it's hard not to be a tad bit overprotective. But is putting the FEAR OF GOD in her at any mention of the word inflicting yet another type of condition that will require years and years of therapy and psychiatric counseling?

If I'm really honest with myself, my rational side tells me my previous poison/weapon analogy to nuts isn't altogether fair. Yes, nuts are just as life-threatening for her, but so is riding in a car without a seat belt. It's my job as her mother to teach her to live with caution, not live with fear. Ten years from now, that will include speeches about texting while driving and underage drinking and other risky behaviors that, like it or not, exist in the real world.

And let's face it, nuts exist here too. Some days it seems as though they're EVERYWHERE. And they are no doubt here to stay. So while my emotional side would love to boycott this sale out of principle, and call up the head of the Daisy Scout Council to explain why this is not the best product to be selling ... I have a feeling I'm going to let my rational side win out this time. Providing my precious girl with the best tools I can for navigating the situation, can only inspire empowerment and prepare her for the many challenges yet to come.

Am I nuts to let her sell nuts? A big part of me says yes. The other part says yes ... but wish me luck anyway.