by Bob Graham
Candlewick Press, 2010. 36 pgs.
Reading Level: ages 3-8 pgs
Hardcover: $16.99
Annotation: April and Esme are tooth fairies who desperately want to convince their parents they are old enough to collect their very first tooth.
Summary: April gets a call on her cell phone from Daniel Dangerfield's grandmother saying a tooth needs collecting. They fly home to convince their parents they are old enough, at 6 and 7, to collect their very first tooth. Mom and Dad are reluctant, but finally give permission if the fairies are very careful, especially of the new highway. As the fairies spy Daniel's house they scoot under his doorway and follow the trail of toys up to Daniel's bedroom. Uh-oh! Daniel wakes up, but the fairies carefully close his eyelids and whisper in his ear that they are spirits of the air and he has only dreamed them. They exchange the coin for his tooth and fly successfully home, welcomed by mom and dad with lots of hugs and wing crackles. They've passed their first tooth test and are ready for a good day's sleep.
Evaluation: I can't say enough about Graham's utterly charming tooth fairy tale. The mixture of technology and magic is simply delightful as April, a 7-year-old tooth fairy, receives tooth communication orders via cell phone. It's a combination of old and new world magic. The images are nice and whimsical with details that simply charm your socks off. At one point the girls' mother is getting ready and turns her blowdryer up so April can float on the cloud of air it produces. And the toilet has a picture of a chicken on it! I was enchanted by the teapot the girls' mother uses for a bath and the tiny little sink is a beautiful golden thimble. And the humor can be appreciated by adult and child alike; Daniel's tooth has been placed in a cup of water and as the girls leave they go and visit his grandmother, who has her false teeth placed in a cup besisde her bed as well. April reminds Esme that they don't take those kind of teeth, though. Ta-da! And the tiny touches Graham adds to his images add lots of interesting character details, such as Esme's glasses and their dad's hippy-esque ponytail, two things you wouldn't normally expect of fairy creatures. And these fairies hang their collected teeth from the rafters of their tiny little stump home (established in 1691). In essence, it's charming, fanciful and a perfect explanation of just how tooth fairies really work in this day and age.
Significance: Losing your teeth and setting them out for the tooth fairy to collect is a right of passage for all young ones and this story addresses a common occurrence that everyone can relate to.
Personal Choice: I remember when I first learned the truth about the tooth fairy and I wanted to see Graham's interpretation of the "truth". Plus the cover art was so enchanting!
Awards: Charlotee Zolotow Honor, 2011 / Children's Notables, 2011
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