When I was a teenager at boarding school (my family were missionaries in PNG at the time) I remember sharing a chocolate bar with a little girl visiting our hostel. The chocolate was one of my favourites and was a gift from my parents. I broke off a section and offered it to the little girl. Before accepting the piece she looked at me with all seriousness and asked a simple question: “Does it have peanut butter in it?”

And I said, “No.”

Because it didn’t. It had chopped peanuts, coconut, nougat and chocolate. No peanut butter like those strange American Reese’s chocolates I was beginning to get familiar with. I didn’t realise, because I’d never met anyone with serious allergies before, that the girl’s question wasn’t about peanut butter as much as about peanuts. So I handed her the chocolate and together with grins on our faces we munched away.

But later, when that little girl got sick and her parents quizzed me about the chocolate I’d given her, I realised what I’d unwittingly done.

Helping kids (and adults) understand allergies.

Peanut and other food allergies can be very dangerous things. But understanding them can be tricky, and trying to explain them to children can be even trickier, so when I heard Katrina Roe, author of Marty’s Nut Free Party, talk about her children’s picture book I knew I had to get a copy.

The story is about a fun, party loving monkey with a most unfortunate problem; he’s allergic to peanuts. As the book progresses Marty learns the seriousness of his allergy, and also the social problems he experiences because of it (who likes going to parties and always getting sick?). But although there is a very clear educational message in this book, Katrina Roe brilliantly weaves a story that is exciting, entertaining and authentic.

Educating our kids about the allergies they, or those around them, live with can not only save lives, but encourage a more sensitive and inclusive attitude to friendship.

What other resources have you found that help kids understand food allergies?

Marty’s Nut Free Party is published in Australia by Wombat Books and can be delivered worldwide with very reasonable postage rates.