Beanies is a great story for opening conversations about physical difference and explaining the basics of alopecia to children. Matthew is a regular kid whose family calls him Foo. He loves his dog, Rizzo, video games, and doing all the things a first grader loves. What he doesn't love is that his hair is falling out. He doesn't know any kids who are bald or even kind of bald. Then, he finds out that he has alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes hair to fall out. Before Matthew found beanies and ballcaps, sometimes kids stared and said mean things. Will others ever be able to understand that different isn't bad-that different is just different? Beanies is based on the true story of Matthew Shelby and his real-life first grade teacher Tracy Peterson.