Influencing Children Through the Art of Storytelling Using a Medically-Informed Children's Book

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how children learn about a health topic from an interactive reading session. Due to the large number of children with allergies, the specific topic chosen for this research study was peanut allergies. The goal of the project was to educate children on a leading, medically-relevant health topic through a story about a child with a peanut allergy.

For the purposes of the research project, author Mykayla Vollmer wrote, illustrated, and published the children's book "A Party Without Peanuts: How Food Allergies Affect Friends." The children's book was then read in a group setting at local third grade classrooms and students were provided adequate time to ask questions following the reading session. The students were assessed through both pre- and post-read surveys to evaluate knowledge gained during the session. Specific topics discussed in the reading include allergies, anaphylaxis, preventative measures, and treatments.

There was a total of 65 pre- and post- read surveys matched in data analysis. There was a significant increase from a pre-read score of 5.38 (76.92%) to a post-read score of 6.38 (91.21%) for the overall survey with a mean difference of 1.0. In addition to comparing the overall results of the study, each question in the survey was assessed on an individual basis. 4 of the 7 questions demonstrated a significant change in percent of students who answered correctly following the reading session.

The overall findings of the study demonstrated that through interactive readings sessions students significantly increased their scores between pre- and post-read questionnaires. This study serves to encourage the use of children's books as an educational tool for young learners.