The Bugabees: Friends With Food Allergies

by Amy Recob

Honored with a Mom's Choice Award, Moonbeam Award and named one of Healthline's Top Ten Food Allergy Books The Friends with Food Allergies tells the story of eight best buggy friends and the different food challenges they face on a daily basis. At home and at school, at the park, or on the beach, BugaBees find ways to stay safe, have fun, and remember that the joy of friendship is far sweeter than any food they can, or in some cases, can't have. For more than a decade, this trusted resource for physicians, educators and parents has and continues to bring fresh optimism and fun to kids living with one or more of the Top 8 food peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, milk, soy, eggs and wheat. Additional activities and talking points in the back of the book inspire further learning and teaching opportunities for young children and their caregivers. Find the video version of this beloved storybook at thebugabees.com, fully narrated and animated! Or check out the companion book, The Friends for All Time , written for friends, siblings and classmates of children with food allergies.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Food, Health

32 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2009

About the author

Amy Recob is a marketing communications professional, mom, and food safety advocate. Her daughter Mollie lives with life-threatening food allergies and was inspiration for her first children's book. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.A. in Journalism, Amy is also an active member of many civic and non-profit service organizations in her community. She and her husband Scott are especially strong supporters of agencies and other individuals dedicated to promoting awareness and prevention of food allergies in children."

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Super CUTESY illustrations. Concept that needs to be covered. Oh, but I couldn't make myself read anymore of this book beyond the first 2 pages. BLECH.

Maybe because the concept is REPEATEDLY bashed over the reader's head? FOOD ALLERGIES ARE BAD, BUT YOU CAN HAVE FUN ANYWAY IF YOU JUST SAY NO TO YOUR PARTICULAR ALLERGY.

Really?

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for anyone who has children with allergy's of if friends do it will help them understand why they cant have some foods.

[Awjtf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful way to explain food allergies!

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does a great job of explaining the “top 8” food allergies! It even has fun activities in the back to lead a discussion of allergies with your family.

[Y.Poston]

a cute story that introduces children to food allergies

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

OK, I do not actually love the language and pace of the verses in this book which repeat the message that food allergic children can have fun even if they are not eating the food consumed by their peers. And as the parent of a child with allergens outside the Top 8 I wish it didn't stop at that short list. But there are not that many picture books available as story time teaching tools with that message, so I give it more stars than I otherwise would.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, kid friendly book about an issue that is critical. I wish I had known about this book when I was a preschool teacher because I worked with many kids who had the particular eight allergies mentioned (peanuts, milk, fish, wheat, shellfish, tree nuts, eggs, and soy). I also like that at the end of the story, there are talking points for each allergy. This could help parents and caregivers of children with (and without) specific allergies in keeping themselves (and friends) safe.

[Anne Zavell · Rating 3 out of 5]

A whimsical tale of eight friends with food allergies. Food allergies are never fun, but best friends always are! This light-hearted story explores the daily routines of eight best buggy friends such as Beetle, Cricket and Butterfly, as they face their respective food allergies with positivity and poise.

[Salsabrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I shared this with a preschool group that I know has several food issues. They seemed more attentive to pointing out their favorite bugs in the illustrations, but they were also cognizant of their own allergies. We followed up by creating lists of some foods we can't eat and foods that are safe.

[Terry]

Read. Not Reviewed.