Eczema can really take a toll on our little ones. They have varying degrees of unsightly red patches on their skin. They sleep poorly since they’re up half the night itching. The itching can consume and distract them from otherwise fun activities like play time, eating, spending time with family. Their diets are often limited due to food allergies. As parents we tote them around from doctor to doctor trying to determine the best treatment plan. We test different creams on our children to find the best one, many which end up stinging their delicate skin. On top of all this, many children with eczema must deal with bullying, which frightens the heck out of me. 
That’s a lot for our kids to deal with and it can be really hard for them to understand why they have to go through all of it.
Unfortunately, the selection of books about eczema or atopic dermatitis is limited, to put it mildly. I’ve tried to track down hard bound books for Tristan to keep, but I haven’t had much luck. If you know of any, please share the titles with us in the comment section.
What I have found are a few online books which I’ll share with you here. Tristan found most of them pretty interesting. The children’s eczema books definitely helped him understand that he’s not the only child with eczema in the world, which definitely lifted his spirits.
- Under My Skin - (Free) Download the entire book or individual chapters about the physical side of eczema, triggers, the emotional side, or the healing side.
- A to Z Animals are Not Scratching – ($1.99) Gorgeous whimsical illustrations teach your child how to overcome the urge to scratch and teaches them the alphabet at the same time. Illustrated and written by Marcie’s Mom, whose daughter has eczema.
- Max Swings Again – (Free) Go to the Interactive Book tab to view this online book. Cute story and pictures about Max the monkey and his eczema. Great website with many other interactive features for young children.
- Buzz Starts a New School – (Free) Go to the Interactive Book tab to view this online book. This one is for older school age children and is about a robot’s first day at a new school and how he copes with his eczema there.
- Penny’s Eggs-im-ah – (Free) Go to the StoryTeller tab at the bottom of the page to download this book in pdf format. This one is also great and prompts kids to really take control of their treatment plan.
I hope your children enjoy the stories! If you know of any others, please let me know and I will gladly add them to this list.
Thanks!
I have an actual copy of the book Penny’s EGGS-im-ah. Our pediatric dermatologist had copies at his office. I thought I had a copy of another children’s book on allergies, but I am unable to find it at the moment. Great idea to highlight books for kids with eczema.
Yes, that’s a cute book! We borrowed one from our local children’s hospital library. Tristan enjoyed it.
Hi! Thanks for the mention on my book A to Z Animals are not Scratching! It’s going to be printed by the National Skin Centre in Singapore and I’m waiting to see how it’d turn out. It will be distributed to their children eczema patients.
Also, I’m working on a few coloring pages as well as valentine’s day using the animals in the book. Will let you know.
Separately, I’ve been contacted to make the book to an app. Maybe your readers can let me know if they think it’s something they will buy. It cost 4 figure US$ to get into an app, anyone knows of cheaper source?
Of course! Always happy to help a fellow eczema mom! Really exciting that you’re getting published. Congrats! Do keep me posted on the coloring pages – I’d love to feature or promote those as well. As far as the app – no clue. Maybe ask around on Twitter? Jennifer