Book Review: You Think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy?

Let’s see, I think that at last count we were up to 6 teeth lost by my oldest daughter and two by my (soon-to-be) 6-year-old. Well, two plus the one that’s hanging on by a tiny little thread and has been ready to fall out for days now. 

My girls excitedly put their baby teeth into the pockets on the little pillow which they tuck underneath their own pillows on those nights when we expect a visit from Ms. Tooth Fairy.

So far, said fairy has only missed one night’s duties, and thankfully was reminded and able to sneak the tooth out and the dollar in before anyone noticed the next morning. Phew – that was definitely a close one.

When my girls talk about the Tooth Fairy, they imagine her with gossamer wings and a sparkling tutu and tiara. But, as we’ve recently learned – she’s more of an “action kind of gal"
with plenty of attitude, who uses an amazing Tooth-o-Finder, travels on an ingenious flying machine, and dodges dogs and cats and gerbils. At least according to author Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt and her book You think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy?

What it is:

Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt is an award-winning magazine writer who has also written five nonfiction children’s books a middle-grade novel. Her first picture book is called You think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy? and shows kids the inner workings behind this legendary being. Not exactly the ‘floating around’ type, the Tooth Fairy is portrayed as a feisty, spunky gal with bright orange hair and a lot of attitude who has a ton of fun sneaking teeth out from under kids’ pillows every night.

When asked what inspired her to write this book, Sheri answered in part,

I eventually found myself wondering why the tooth fairy is
always portrayed as this dainty, magical creature—complete with wings, wand, and flouncing skirts. To my mind, what has kept the tooth fairy going all these years is the thrill of the hunt. I bet she’s as addicted to nabbing baby teeth as I am to dark chocolate! I see her as very James Bondish–with quite the attitude!

The book is aimed at kids from ages 4-8, is 32 pages and was published by Chronicle Books in August of 2007.

Here’s my our take on it:

My husband sat down to read this book with our older girls before bedtime one night. I think he had as much fun reading it as they did listening! I sat, watching them laugh their way through the book, especially at the brightly-colored and action-filled illustrations.

The book answers a lot of kids’ questions about the tooth fairy – such as, how does she know when they lose a tooth? And, how does she lug around all of those teeth and money every night? Not to mention, why is the tooth fairy so obsessed with teeth?

The book also gives kids advice when it comes to handling their lost baby teeth – such as making sure the teeth are sparkling clean and right under the edge of the pillow, rather than clutched in fists or buried. I think most parents will appreciate these – I know I do. 

My middle daughter – the one who’s about to lose a top front tooth any minute now – has been reading this book daily. Losing teeth is such a big part of their lives at this age, that it’s wonderful to see a book that embraces this stage of their childhood and in such a way that’s so fun and humor-filled.

I love this story from Sheri Bell Rehwoldt’s website, about if she has a favorite story from losing a tooth as a child,

Yeah. It involves my twin sister, Jeri. She was always coming up with harebrained ideas that usually meant pain for me. It
was her smart idea that I tie one end of a piece of dental floss around my loose tooth—and the other end to a doorknob.

Jeri swore up one side and down the other that after she slammed the door, my tooth would pop out—pain free. She was wrong, as usual. My tooth stayed firmly in my gum—for another week, mind you—as I nursed the large bump I got from slamming my forehead into the door! I can still remember Jeri saying it was MY fault that it didn’t work!

The bottom line:

You Think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy? is a fun – and funny – book that kids of any age are sure to love. Little ones will get excited to see what will happen when they finally start losing teeth, and older kids will love knowing what happens to those little pearly whites that get so tenderly tucked under their pillows at night. Plus, it takes a lot of pressure off of parents to answer all of kids’ questions about who the Tooth Fairy is, and how she operates.

Where can you find it?:

You Think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy? is available wherever  books are sold, and also at online retailers like Amazon. The list price is $15.99 for the hardcover version.