Friday, September 8, 2017

The Untold Story of the Tooth Fairy by José Carlos Andrés -- OPTIONAL

Andrés, José Carlos The Untold Story of the Tooth Fairy, illustrated by Betania Zacarias. PICTURE BOOK. NubeOcho/Somos Och8, 2016. $16.95. Content: G.

According to this story, the Tooth Fairy was once an opera-singing oyster who lost her only pearl. Word got out that she was bereft without it, and a little mouse on land decided to solve her problem for her. It took him a while to find just the right substitution, but as soon as he saw a lost tooth under a child's pillow, he knew it would work. To make up for taking the tooth, he left behind a shiny coin. Thus the tooth fairy and her helpers began their tradition of exchanging lost teeth for presents.

Lost teeth are an area of interest for many young children. Unfortunately, this book simply didn't work for me. At a hefty 40 pages, it is very long and needlessly repetitive. Also, while it provides an interesting origin story for the Tooth Fairy, it doesn't actually connect the sad, opera-singing oyster with the suddenly-magical fairy and her newfound quest for teeth. (How does she now know who has lost a tooth and where that tooth might be? And what does she do with all those teeth? And where do they get the small gifts they leave for each child in exchange for a tooth?) Children who listen to this one are likely to walk away with more unanswerable questions than they had before the book.

Pre-K, EL (K-3) -- OPTIONAL. Reviewed by Sydney G., K-6 Library Media Specialist

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