It's been a VERY long time since I posted on this blog... I've been knee deep in a new kids book project (more soon!).
Today, I wanted to share a round up of reviews that Woolfred has received - in part to put a couple of my faves in one place, and in part to boost me up in the week leading up to a new book launch (which can be exhilarating - but also a bit scary!). This has been such a rewarding experience - I've been honoured to touch the lives of many children in the last couple of years with this little story.
 |
| Detail from Woolfred Cannot Eat Dandelions |
Portland Book Review
5 Stars! Childhood Allergies Have a Hero
In
recent years, the number of childhood allergies has become an increasing alert
for parents, teachers, schools, and anyone working in childcare. Teachers have
to be more aware of what is in their classroom, and parents fear what their
child could consume when they are out of eyesight. Woolfred Cannot Eat
Dandelions is the perfect book to put into perspective that everyone has
issues with something, whether it’s a food allergy or sensitivity.
This
book hits home with an issue not everyone deals with personally, but everyone
knows someone who is affected. Claudine Crangle has done a wonderful job of
stating a grown up issue in a manner that is easy for a child to understand. A
cute story, with simple language and examples of the desire to “throw caution to
the wind” and eat whatever you want no matter how it makes you feel, this book
belongs in the hands of every parent of a child with an allergy, every doctor’s
office, every school nurse, and teacher’s classroom.
Midwest Book Review
"Woolfred Cannot
Eat Dandelions" is a story to help children understand food intolerance,
and learning to accept and live with it. The gentle limited palette
illustrations in shades of gray, yellow, green, and white, present a young sheep's
experience testing the limits of a dandelion intolerance. Because Woolfred
loves dandelions so much, at first he cannot accept that whenever he eats them,
he gets very sick in his tummy. But after trying several different ways to eat
them with the same, tummy-gurgling results, Woolfred learns to accept his
dandelion intolerance, and ventures out to enjoy as many other life experiences
as he can while honoring this limitation. A handy Note to Parents and
Caregivers give additional suggestions for ways to help children cope with food
intolerances.
Booklist
Review
Here's a slightly disguised episode designed for sharing with children
who have food intolerances (as opposed to allergies). All the other sheep eat
dandelions. Woolfred can't . . . but they look so good and (as it turns out)
taste so good, too. And when Woolfred rebelliously chows down on a clump, his
belly inevitably swells with a Gwaaaaglewaaaglewush, down he falls, and out
came the dandelions. What if he just eats the flowers? Or just the leaves? Same
explosive result. Though Crangle declines to specify or show from which end of
Woolfred the plants come out, repeated scenes of hooves dangling in the air on
pages bedewed with yellow and green spatters adequately convey the idea.
Woolfred at last just shakes himself off and rejoins his flock each member of
which, as it turns out, has a similar quirk: Lana sneezes when she's near
clover. Bert likes to scratch his bottom on the ground. A closing spread of
advice from a psychologist for parents and caregivers adds definitions as well
as techniques for support and discussion.
