As she ate a piece of cake in celebration of her first birthday, Roslyn Estates resident Stephanie Sorkin’s daughter Mallory broke out in a rash.
Initially, Sorkin thought the rash was the result of Mallory’s recent flu shot, but upon a visit to the doctor, it was discovered that she had an allergic reaction the eggs in the cake.
With her other two children also suffering from allergies, Sorkin began a quest to learn more about her children’s condition that eventually led her to write a children’s book, “Nutley the Nut-Free Squirrel,” that is to be officially released April 2.
“I often tell my kids stories at night and this story eventually grew and grew to the point where I thought, I have to share this,” Sorkin said. “The involvement with F.A.R.E. (Food Allergy Research and Education) and donating my proceeds gave me even more of a push to write it and get it out there.”
Nutley’s tale, Sorkin added, developed the more she’d tell her children, each living with food allergies, the story at bedtime.
In writing the book from a child’s point of view, Sorkin thinks the story will have a universal appeal that will attract a wider audience than solely children with food allergies.
“It’s not just designed for the allergic child, but for everyone, his friends, his classmates to show that he’s not alone. When [Nutley] tells his friends, they all come forward and tell him about all their allergies,” Sorkin said. “The idea was for it to be whimsical and a bit silly. I wanted the squirrel with a nut allergy, and there’s another character that’s a dog with a bone allergy, a bee that’s allergic to pollen. As I started telling my daughter this story, we both thought it’d be funny, ‘oh, a squirrel with a nut allergy,’ and she got a laugh out of it. It’s a silly and upbeat story.”
The main character in “Nutley the Nut-Free Squirrel,” which is being released through Mascot Books, refuses to be hindered by an allergy to nuts.
Sorkin said she learned in her research that her three daughters – Mallory, Lea and Kyra – are among the growing number of children in America with food allergies, a number the CDC said in a 2008 report had increased 18 percent from 1997-2007.
Sorkin said her effort to learn more about food allergies was given a large boost by F.A.R.E, a national organization that works to show children that they are not alone in their struggles.
Sorkin said that F.A.R.E’s work has lessened the difficulty of living with a food allergy, attributing the organization’s work to legislation that requires certain foods to explicitly list allergen ingredients.
“It’s very difficult because parents are always on alert, always sort of waiting by the phone to get a call from the school or wherever. You have to be more organized then the average parent,” Sorkin said. “The children can actually lead pretty normal lives. They can participate in activities after school and have play dates and go to birthday parties. They just have to bring their own cupcakes.”
Sorkin will be speaking at local schools during Food Allergy Awareness Week, May 12 to 18.
“Nutley the Nut-Free Squirrel” is currently available on Mascotbooks.com and locally at Please Mom, a clothing store on Willis Avenue, as well as The Candy Store, also on Willis Avenue It will be available April 2 on Amazon.com and at Barnes and Noble retailers.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the book will go toward F.A.R.E., which raises awareness and education as well as funds food allergy research in search of a cure.
