CLEVELAND, Ohio – In a way, Allison Rozo has the memory of burnt pizza to thank for “Diego Fuego,” the children’s book she and her husband Rafael created.

“ ‘Diego Fuego’ came a little bit more from looking at my childhood,” she said. “I had pretty bad asthma and allergies. My mother accidentally burnt a pizza one year at Christmas, and I had to go to the ER because of the smoke.

“When I was trying to come up with this concept – we had this firefighting dragon, but what is it about? – I realized it’s me having this allergy, having to navigate that. I wanted someone with allergies and asthma to feel powerful still. You feel very weak, you can’t do things others can do. I wanted that to come across for Diego. But I wanted that feeling, ‘No, I’m powerful in my own way, too.’ ”

The Rozos’ t

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