Hailey's Gluten Free Surprise : Helping Others Understand Gluten Free

One of the best ways to help a child who needs to be gluten free is to help the important adults in his/her life understand what this means.

For someone who doesn't need to follow a strict gluten-free diet, it can be difficult to understand.

After all, the word "diet" usually means "cheat a little." For a person with celiac (or nonceliac gluten sensitivity) 100% adherence is very important.

Yes, a crumb can make a difference. This "children's" book is helping teachers, grandparents, childcare providers, and others understand what gluten is.

It is helping them understand the importance of food safety while including all children. Hailey's Gluten Free Surprise: Helping Others Understand Gluten Free follows Hailey through her first six months of a new school year after being diagnosed with celiac disease.

She is very accepting of her medically required diet, offering a, "That's OK," when she cannot be included in a special treat with her peers.

Hailey's attitude, as well as her ability to speak up for her needs, offers other children a positive role model.

But she also shows others the sad feelings that can arise, and that are so natural when a person feels left out or when they cannot eat something that looks and smells good.

In the end, Hailey's teacher and peers understand a bit more about gluten.

They secretly plan to make their Valentine's Day party completely gluten free so she can be included.

While this certainly won't happen in every classroom, the purpose of this story is to help promote empathy and understanding.

Hailey's Gluten Free Surprise is about the acceptance that is required by the child with a special diet and it is about the understanding that is required by those who are important parts of his or her life. *Teachers: if one of your students requires a gluten-free diet, please ask him or her first before reading this book to the entire class.

While some children are thrilled to share a book that is about themselves, some children don't want to be the focus.

But please do read it for yourself. Your understanding of gluten free is very important. (Identical boys' version: Adam's Gluten Free Surprise)