Mi diente!!!!

The Tooth Fairy Meets El Raton Perez
Written by Rene Colato Lainez
Illustrated by Tom Lintern
Tricycle Press, 2010
30 pages
Fantasy

            I happened on this book by chance.  The mouse on the front cover initially caught my eye, the Tooth Fairy drew me to read further.  For me, as with any mother in the US, the Tooth Fairy is a great story and a common custom.  We experienced the tale this weekend when my son lost two teeth in one day. (I had nothing to do with it.  The dentist did it.)  The Tooth Fairy Meets El Raton Perez offers a neat twist on a traditional fable told to children when they lose their baby teeth.    The tooth Fairy collects the lost teeth of children around the world, right?  Well, in this book there is a small mouse named El Raton Perez that collects the teeth of Latino children.  When a small niño lost his tooth, the Tooth Fairy assumed she would collect it, but when she arrived, she found El Raton Perez there to collect the tooth.  He explained that he had collected the teeth of the boy’s parents back in his native Mexico, so he should collect the teeth of the boy even though he was in America, now.  They disagree until a mishap changes everything.

            The illustrations are in realistic color pencil form with color use per the character.  The fairy is drawn and colored softly, and the mouse and other details are dark, with a heavier impression.  The text is white on the pages that include the text in the illustration.  The font is black on the pages where it complements the illustration.  Rainbows are well represented in this book, and I enjoyed looking at them as much as I did reading the book.

            Preschool through about fifth grade will enjoy this book.  The wonderful illustrations will keep any reader captivated while they read.  This book will be good for a language arts class to be able to incorporate English and Spanish into a class especially if ELL/ESL students are present.  They can be asked to help instruct the class on how to say and spell the words for a wonderful interactive journal lesson.  Social studies can also be applied to show the differences and similarities in cultures.  Character education can be taught using the point that the Tooth Fairy and El Raton Perez worked together to help each other obtain a common goal.  This book can also be used for a health lesson on loosing teeth.  The Tooth Fairy Meets El Raton Perez earned the IRA Teacher’s Choice Award and placed second as the Best Children’s Book – English category for the International Latino Book Award.

 

The Tooth Fairy Meets El Raton Perez - Book Trailer: