Explaining allergies with Nishani Reed's No Cheese Please
About Author
No Cheese Please, a new picture book by Nishana Reed and Maria Neradova, explores food allergies - and friendship.
Nishani Reed lives in south Manchester with her husband, two children and an inconveniently large dog. Her picture book Nabil Steals a Penguin was longlisted for the 2025 BookTrust Storytime Prize. Nishani also works in publishing as an IP lawyer.
Maria Neradova grew up as the black sheep in a non-artistic family and decided to pursue a creative career. She is now a freelance illustrator and author, and has illustrated several children's books. She lives in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Interview
August 2025
No Cheese Please! Introducing food allergies to young children
ReadingZone spoke with author Nizrana Reed about her new picture book, No Cheese Please!, which takes a light touch in exploring children's food allergies.
In No Cheese Please, Mo, a little mouse, is so excited that it's his birthday, but not about the cheesy treats his well-meaning friends bring him for his party - because Mo is allergic to cheese! Can his friends help save his special day?
Q&A with Nishana Reed: Creating No Cheese, Please!, a story about food allergies
"I wanted to write a story about allergies that focused less on Mo's difference and more on
how his friends learn to accommodate that difference."
1. Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone to introduce No Cheese Please! Can you tell us about yourself, how you began creating picture books and what you enjoy doing in your creative moments?
Hello! I'm Nishani Reed, author of No Cheese Please! I grew up in Manchester, mainly in the dispensary of my dad's chemist, and spent long hours there counting out brightly coloured tablets and composing limericks on the back of old prescriptions.
I went into law first but always felt like doing something creative too. I became a picture book writer when I had children and found I had stories to tell them. But I still know more about over-the- counter medicines than you might expect.
2. What is your new picture book, No Cheese Please, about?
No Cheese Please! is about a little mouse called Mo, who is allergic to cheese. When his well-meaning friends bring cheese-based gifts to his birthday party, Mo has to politely decline (and then have a little cry). Can his friends make it up to Mo and find a way to save his special day?!
3. Why did you want to write a picture book about allergies? Have you drawn on your own experiences for this?
Yes! I wrote this story for my daughter Chloe, who's had food allergies for her whole life. She's not the self-pitying sort, but we've always found special occasions like birthday parties challenging.
The idea came to me while Chloe was bravely singing happy birthday and pretending not to mind that, as usual, she wasn't going to be able to have even a little lick of the fabulous rainbow unicorn cake of dreams. Which is very hard when you're only four.
I thought, I haven't seen many picture books about this. And then I thought, maybe I should get to work on one!
4. What are the main challenges in helping young children understand allergies? Why did you decide to focus on a mouse that's allergic to cheese in this story? (we love the cheesy Cheddarsaurus Rex!)
I'm always amazed by how easy it is for young children to understand allergies. They think, "oh, my friend can't eat that" and then accept that as perfectly normal. The challenge is actually adults, many of whom simply never came across food allergies when they were younger and often struggle to believe that it is a real condition.
So, inspired and a little enraged by that, I wanted to write a story about allergies that focused less on Mo's difference and more on how his friends learn to accommodate that difference. But I didn't want the story to feel gloomy (or, worse, boring), so I had absolutely loads of fun coming up with bonkers cheese-based creations along the way!
5. There's also a strong message about friendship - what will children learn about being a good friend in this story?
The practical advice in this book is to check dietary requirements before offering food to children, however kindly meant. But it's a scary thing, a food allergy, because the reality is that no matter how careful everyone is, things can be missed. And that's really where friendship comes in. Any problem becomes a hundred times easier when you're surrounded by best friends who love you, and know you, and just "get" it. From experience I can say that that is a very special sort of kindness, one that stays with you forever.
6. What's your favourite spread or moment in the picture book?
Oh, THE CAKE! I don't seem to be able to write a story without a giant cake in it. I was so excited to see how Maria interpreted this spread and it's more glorious than I could possibly have imagined. A whole book-turning moment!
7. A great idea to include the non-dairy cake recipe at the end of the book - have you tried it out?
This was a fantastic idea from my publisher. I love it because it feels like a fun way to take the story further and try out a simple dairy-free recipe that you might not have otherwise ever have tried. I baked it several times to make sure it was perfect.
Something I've learnt is that most recipes, especially cakes, don't actually benefit that much from the addition of dairy. I wouldn't have believed that either at one point - but I think everyone might be surprised by how moist and fluffy this cake is! It's like a mug of sweet hot chocolate in pillow form. Mmmm. What was the question again?
8. Other than baking a (delicious!) non-dairy cake, how else can adults sharing No Cheese Please with children take it further, at home or in the classroom?
My hope is that little Mo's struggle might offer a glimpse into the fraught world of food allergies and encourage some gentle conversations about how we can support our friends or family with allergies and make sure we can all enjoy special occasions together safely.
Children are so naturally kind and creative, so I'm secretly hoping they'll come up with ideas we've never thought of before! A dairy-detection device in the doorbell? A forensic nut-busting squirrel squad?!
9. Are you working on other picture books?
My problem is too many kernels of ideas and not enough hours in the day to develop any of them. My pesky day job is quite inconvenient in that respect. I do have a new story in progress though - early stages so I'd better not jinx it by saying more!
10. What kinds of things do you enjoy doing to relax away from your desk / studio?
Recently I've been having a go at tennis, which is great fun but not particularly relaxing. I'm not very good at relaxing though, to be honest. That might be something I get into later in life.
No Cheese, Please!
Nabil Steals a Penguin
