Thank the holy heavens for this book! I’m A Gluten-Sniffing Service Dog is a fantastic way to explain celiac disease and a gluten free lifestyle to kids.
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I lived for years with a neurological issue that no one could seem to solve. All the doctors and all the tests couldn’t figure it out. And then I read a book that clued me in to gluten. Fast forward a year and I’ve now stabilized on a gluten free diet, with a tenth of the neurological symptoms I used to have. It’s a life changer.
Gluten is hard to explain to a kid. If you need to explain gluten to a preschooler, I’m A Gluten-Sniffing Service Dog is the book for you. It’s a colorful and fun-to-read book about a dog and a little girl, that happens to explain gluten along the way. And it’s based on a true story!
Chewie is in service dog school and having trouble learning how to focus on his job. But his person, Alice, needs him! She has celiac disease and gets so sick that she has to miss school and birthday parties and everything. Can Chewie graduate and be Alice’s doggy super sniffer??
My son loves to pretend to be Chewie, and he runs around the house sniffing things going “alert alert! There is gluten in this!” Our favorite page is where Chewie has to ignore the pizza on the ground, or maybe the hot dog. It’s hard work to be a gluten-sniffing service dog!
May is Celiac Awareness Month. I don’t have celiac, but I do know how tough it is to cut out gluten, and how emotionally trying the whole experience is. Getting accidentally glutened is a real problem for me, but it isn’t life threatening the way it is for someone with celiac disease. There is so much more we can do for our friends and neighbors working through this serious autoimmune condition. You can show support through donating to organizations like the Celiac Disease Foundation (where I am proud to be an Ambassador!), or helping Creating New Tails who trained the real Chewie. And please contact your members of Congress and other legislators to let them know this matters to you.
I’m A Gluten Sniffing Service Dog is available on Amazon and Bookshop. Written by Michal Babay, illustrated by Ela Smietanka.
Looking for other timely books recommendations? See more of our family’s Recent Reads!