Today we’re on a blog tour for the new fiction picture book Dixie Wants an Allergy
Dixie listens to the stories of her friends with allergies and decides she would like an allergy, too. After all, her friends seem to get special treatment, like custom meals, and Hannah even gets to wear a “sparkly” bracelet. Will Dixie get her wish? Will it mean she gets extra attention, too?
Young readers are going to relate to a girl who wants what others have because they have likely done it themselves. It is an important lesson to learn that, more often than not, having shiny things and extra attention comes at a cost. At the same time readers are also subtly learning about what it is like to have an allergy, so important for learning empathy.
How did author Tori Corn come up with this unique perspective to help others learn more about allergies? She was gracious enough to stop by for an interview to let us know.
Tori, how did you come up with the idea for the book?
I came up with the idea of Dixie Wants an Allergy when my son developed a sensitivity to gluten and had to bring special food to nursery school. I wanted to write a story to make him (and others who suffer from allergies) feel better about being different.
Your book really struck a chord with our family because my son is allergic to dairy products (he has an anaphylactic reaction like Charlie in the book). People often have difficulty understanding what that means.
Since there aren’t many picture books about this subject, I decided to write one. I think it’s a great way for teachers and parents to have a discussion about allergies.
I wish I had this book when my son was in elementary school. I particularly like how you made it humorous.
I think it’s important to find the humor in life’s toughest situations, which is why I wrote a funny story about a subject that can be serious and scary.
That is very true. How did you decide to tell the story from the point of view of a girl who apparently didn’t have allergies, rather than one who did?
I wanted the story to be appealing to kids who don’t suffer from allergies, so it’s also a story about watching what you wish for and that the grass isn’t always greener. In the end, I hope my book teaches children that they should think twice about what they want and be wary of wanting what other people have. Last but not least, I hope they get the message that our wishes may not always perfect, but they’re still worth wishing for.
Tori Corn
Thank you, Tori.
If you’d like to learn more about Tori and her books, be sure to visit her website,
as well as the other stops on the blog tour.
Dixie Wants an Allergy
Age Range: 3 – 6 years
Grade Level: Preschool – Kindergarten
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Sky Pony Press (April 1, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1620879913
ISBN-13: 978-1620879917
Disclosures: The book was provided for review purposes electronically. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at not extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.
by Nicola Muir and illustrated by Annie Hayward with a foreword by Former Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark. This book is about amazing migrations, both by tiny shorebirds and by determined humans. 
