Dixie Wants an Allergy - a book review

Title:  Dixie Wants an Allergy

Author:  Tori Corn

Illustrator: Nancy Cote

Hello everyone and welcome to the Virtual Blog Tour of "Dixie Wants an Allergy."  I was very lucky to be able to interview the main character of the book after gaining permission from both mom and Dixie's teacher.  Once you meet her you'll adore her and what she learned about allergies.  As I entered her school I was informed a room was prepared for us in which I conducted the interview.  Here is what transpired......

Marilyn:  Hello Dixie, thank you so much for talking to me today.

Dixie: Welcome.

Marilyn:  How old are you Dixie and what grade are you in?

Dixie:  (shyly)  I am five years old and in Kindergarten this year.

Marilyn:  Do you have lots of friends in Kindergarten and what's special about them?

Dixie:  (gently tugging at her braids) Well there's Bridget and she gets to eat special meals in a restaurant, Charlie who ate a cheese omelet and had to go to the hospital in an ambulance and Hannah who gets to wear a special sparkly bracelet because of peanuts.

Marilyn: Do you know what that is called when your friends have to be extra careful of foods they cannot eat?

Dixie:  Yea.....allergy!

Marilyn:  Do you have an allergy Dixie?

Dixie:  Well I kind of felt bad because all the other kids had one and I wanted one real bad too.  I wanted to be treated special....just like them.  I went home and looked and looked to see if I could find one for myself.  I looked under my bed for dust, found dust, but wasn't allergic to it.  Went out to the garden to to see if maybe flowers would do it but no, not allergic to them either. I kept trying but finally had to give up - I was clean.

Marilyn:  I hear you did manage to find something you were allergic to is that right? Want to tell me about it?

Dixie:  Mommy and I were planting flowers outside in the garden and our neighbour's new cat, Puffin came over because he was curious to find out what we were doing.  I patted him and he was soft and cuddly and then I picked him up to snuggle him. He was so cute.

Marilyn:  Did he like you doing that?  How did that make you feel?

Dixie:  He kept rubbing his head on my shirt and then I started to sneeze, my eyes started to itch and my skin turned all pink and bumpy.  I knew then I had an allergy and I didn't like it one little bit.

Marilyn:  Did you find a way to treat your allergy and make you feel all better?

Dixie:  Mommy gave me yukky medicine, put cream on my pinks but it was real, real itchy for a long time.  I don't want allergies now. I'm done.

Marilyn:  Did you think maybe wishing for an allergy was not the best wish you could have made?

Dixie:  Yea.  But then I wished for something really better....and I got that wish....but I can't tell you what it is now because it would spoil the surprise in the book.

Marilyn:  Ohhhh, let's not spoil the surprise for my readers.  Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings with us.  It was fun to hear your story and get to know you Dixie.  I have a special gift to give you to take back to your classroom that you can share with your teacher and friends.  Ready?

Marilyn: Here you go.  I will help you carry it back to class as it is quite heavy to tote.  Thank you so much for the interview and giving us information about allergies.  Lots of people have them and we have to be very, very careful and know what to do to take good care of ourselves don't we? You were a very good girl to tell me your story. Thank you.

Dixie:  Thank you so much for the present.  My friends and I will eat it at snack time or recess when teacher says its ok.  I'll help you carry it too. See we both can do it together.  My classroom's down the hall there.


Illustrations from the book:

About the author:

Tori’s interest in children’s books began when her daughter was born. She fell in love with picture books after spending countless hours at the library reading to her daughter. By the time her sons were born, she was inspired to write her own stories and quickly became hooked on writing. She also studied picture book illustration at the School of Visual Arts. Tori joined New Jersey SCBWI and attended writing conferences where she learned the ins and outs of the publishing industry.  Writing and illustrating children’s books became an unexpected, exciting second career for her. She has expanded her writing for children of all ages and is currently working on a historical fiction novel.


Catch up with her on:   Her website -  www.toricorn.com
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                                                        Book Review Rating:  8  (Fantastic!)

Read on and read always!  Have an excellent day everyone.