Dear Tooth Fairy
Pamela Duncan Edwards, Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick (Illustrator), Marie-louise FitzpatrickBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Dear Tooth Fairy,
Last week it was my birthday. I was six, but I don't have even one wobbly tooth yet. I'm worried.
Yours sincerely,
Claire
Claire is anxiously awaiting her first loose tooth, and she's getting impatient. She writes to the Tooth Fairy, and miraculously, the Tooth Fairy writes back -- providing Claire with some helpful advice!
In a delightful exchange of letters between a young girl and the Tooth Fairy, Pamela Duncan Edwards and Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick convey the excited anticipation every young child experiences while waiting for the monumental event of losing that first wobbly tooth.
In a series of letters, six-year-old Claire and the Tooth Fairy discuss the important matter of her first loose tooth and when it is going to fall out.
Synopsis
Dear Tooth Fairy,
Last week it was my birthday. I was six, but I don't have even one wobbly tooth yet. I'm worried.
Yours sincerely,
Claire
Claire is anxiously awaiting her first loose tooth, and she's getting impatient. She writes to the Tooth Fairy, and miraculously, the Tooth Fairy writes back — providing Claire with some helpful advice!
In a delightful exchange of letters between a young girl and the Tooth Fairy, Pamela Duncan Edwards and Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick convey the excited anticipation every young child experiences while waiting for the monumental event of losing that first wobbly tooth.
Publishers Weekly
The correspondents in this appealing epistolary tale are Claire, newly six, and the eponymous diva of dentition herself- although older readers may suspect that the latter is actually Claire's grandma. Claire's letters, which serve as the main text, start out lamenting her inability to shed even one baby tooth-which is particularly galling because Jimmy Clarke has two wobbly ones. Interspersed with scenes from Claire's busy life (school, Halloween, a birthday party, visits with Grandma), the Tooth Fairy's typewritten responses appear on fairy-emblazoned stationery, offering consolation, encouragement and genial dental hygiene reminders: "I know it's hard to believe, but I have people on my list who are almost seven, and they still don't have wobbly teeth.... I hope you are brushing them twice a day, because I really like to collect shiny white teeth." Although a popular subject, this tooth fairy outing seems fresh and sunny, thanks in part to the successful pairing of Fitzpatrick (Lizzy and Skunk) and Edwards (Some Smug Slug). Softly lit watercolors, firmly grounded in everyday life, make an effective visual and narrative counterpoint to the letters' vivacity and flights of fancy. A lifelike, upbeat ending should earn grins-gap-toothed and otherwise-of approval. Ages 4-7. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
The correspondents in this appealing epistolary tale are Claire, newly six, and the eponymous diva of dentition herself- although older readers may suspect that the latter is actually Claire's grandma. Claire's letters, which serve as the main text, start out lamenting her inability to shed even one baby tooth-which is particularly galling because Jimmy Clarke has two wobbly ones. Interspersed with scenes from Claire's busy life (school, Halloween, a birthday party, visits with Grandma), the Tooth Fairy's typewritten responses appear on fairy-emblazoned stationery, offering consolation, encouragement and genial dental hygiene reminders: "I know it's hard to believe, but I have people on my list who are almost seven, and they still don't have wobbly teeth.... I hope you are brushing them twice a day, because I really like to collect shiny white teeth." Although a popular subject, this tooth fairy outing seems fresh and sunny, thanks in part to the successful pairing of Fitzpatrick (Lizzy and Skunk) and Edwards (Some Smug Slug). Softly lit watercolors, firmly grounded in everyday life, make an effective visual and narrative counterpoint to the letters' vivacity and flights of fancy. A lifelike, upbeat ending should earn grins-gap-toothed and otherwise-of approval. Ages 4-7. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
The excitement and anticipation of losing the first tooth is brought vividly and humorously to life in this exchange of letters between young Claire and the Tooth Fairy. Claire and her friend Amanda are worried because they don't even have any wobbly ones. But after a visit to grandma, who tells them to be patient, the Tooth Fairy herself writes to assure them that they are on her list. Of course, as life goes on with parties and Halloween, a tooth finally begins to wobble, all teeth are carefully brushed in preparation, and tooth boxes are prepared for the big occasion. Claire is happy after receiving her money, but already anxious about her "next wobbly tooth." Fitzpatrick's delicate watercolors honestly convey the vibrancy of real six-year-olds. Claire is truly a charmer, while the settings of school and home, including the tooth-brushing, add to the attractive normality of the story. We can almost believe in the delightful fairy with multiple wings and many-colored dresses writing the letters. The end papers offer stamps with imaginative insights into fairy life. 2003, Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins Publishers, Ages 4 to 7.— Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz