The Tooth written by Avi Slodovnick and Manon Gauthier is a new addition to the picture book market. It was Published September 1^st, 2010 but was first released in Canada a year earlier. The story follows a young girl with a tooth ache on her journey to the dentist’s office. On her way she spots a homeless man on the street. "She wanted to take a closer look, but her mother held her hand tightly." The dentist removes the little girls tooth and gives it to her in an envelop. As the little girl and her mother walk past the homeless man again, the little girl slips out of her mothers grip and give the homeless man her tooth so he can get the tooth fairy money.

I appreciate the plot of the story and love how it tries to portray empathy and charity. However I felt that the story was a bit too heavy and scattered. I wasn’t quite sure what the book was about until the very last page. I did enjoy the unique illustrations created with pencil and color pencil. The people were given distinct characteristics which matched the descriptive language well. It felt like the exaggerated features are what children might see when they remember faces. The illustrations also helped in understanding the story and what it means to be homeless. I think this might evoke interesting conversations out of children depending on their experiences with homeless people. However before introducing the book I would suggest discussing the issue and letting children know what the book is about . The publisher recommends this book for children ages 4-8

Happy Reading!

Tracey