A fairy, not a pansy

You Think It's Easy Being the Tooth Fairy?
by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt; illustrated by David Slonim

Reviewed by Kelly Herold

Admit it: You’ve sometimes wondered about the Tooth Fairy. What does she look like? Is she really a pinkified variant of a Disney princess? Does she glide down to the pillow, pink skirts billowed, on a trail of sparkling fairy dust?

I choose to believe she’s more like the heroine in Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt’s You Think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy? Her job's difficult—digging under pillows, traveling the world, hauling a bag of teeth after her—and this fairy wants you to know it: "You think it’s easy being the tooth fairy? Well, it’s not. It takes skill. It takes daring!"

That it does. The book chronicles a night in the Tooth Fairy's life and provides rules for those expecting a visit. Bell-Rehwoldt’s fairy is tough, hard working, and as straightforward a gal as you could hope:

Let’s get one thing straight, OK?
I NEVER wear pink flouncing skirts
or twinkling glass slippers! That’s
Cinderella. She does a lot of sitting
around the castle looking pretty.
BORING!
Me, I’m an action kind of gal.
I live for danger!
For suspense!

David Slonim’s illustrations fit Bell-Rehwoldt’s dramatic, child-friendly text perfectly. The tooth fairy has a mop of red hair, wears purple pajamas, and rides around the world on a tooth, a homing device attached to her wrist. Children recline in the background like sleeping giants.

You Think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy challenges conventional wisdom and the popular imagination to great effect. For maximum giggles read this one aloud to a group of children and watch their imaginations soar.

Rating: *\*\*\

Comments

[Jules]

I like this one, too, and covered it last Saturday (I think??) at 7-Imp. I love her spunk. It's a clever, little expose of an underdog heroine, no?!

[Kelly]

It is, Jules! And it rang true to me...as much as the TF can be true, that is ;)