Tabitha's Terrifically Tough Tooth - Hardcover

Charlotte Middleton

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1862331723 ISBN 13: 9781862331723

Publisher: Gullane Children's Books, 1999

Synopsis

Tabitha has a loose tooth. Her dad says that soon she'll get a visit from the Tooth Fairy, but there's just one problem. Her tooth won't budge any farther. She has tried everything to make it come out, from bouncing on a trampoline to putting on music and dancing around the room. But it seems that nothing will dislodge her terrifically tough tooth. This is a warm and witty story that will make children smile a big toothy (or toothless!) grin as they identify with this familiar rite of passage.

About this title

From School Library Journal:

K-Gr 1-A welcome debut. Tabitha tries to help her wobbly tooth fall out, but nothing works. Dancing only makes her tired; with a string tied around its middle, her tortoise takes two steps and falls asleep; her dad's Venus flytrap captures-a fly. Fed up and out of ideas, Tabitha realizes, "There'd be no visit from the Tooth Fairy tonight." Then, she sneezes, and out pops her tooth. At the end, her outstretched arms and grin say it all, with only a note to the Tooth Fairy, "Please take care of my tough tooth." The understated yet focused text captures the desire, determination, and disappointment that can surround this powerful event in a child's life. While the text provides the content, the illustrations add the pizzazz. Each two-page spread is bold and aggressive, with solid expanses of deep, muted colors. White is used to a minimum, effectively allowing Tabitha's teeth to reign supreme. A free-flowing black line delineates each image. Although Tabitha's dad talks to her, no adults are depicted; her fat cat plays a central supporting role, watching or participating in every scene to deadpan comic effect. This book, with its focus front and center on Tabitha's dangling dilemma, creates an invigorating, warm experience for readers.

Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

Tabitha's stubborn tooth isn't merely dangling from her top of her mouth it's literally cantilevered over her lower lip. Every attempt to coax it free fails, but just when it looks like the Tooth Fairy will be giving Tabitha's house a pass that night, the girl erupts with an explosive sneeze, and out pops the tooth. The payoff comes on the final page: a tiny tooth fairy alights on Tabitha's bed. British debut author/artist Middleton gives this oft-told story new life with full-bleed, mixed-media illustrations handsomely rendered in sapphire, russet and grassy green. Her cartoony style masks its own sophistication with childlike touches, e.g., the colors don't quite reach the penciled borders on her figures. She creates movement with gestural lines and via surprising views, as in a spread about Tabitha jumping on a trampoline, with the girl represented only by her toes as the rest of her flies out of range. By composing almost every one of the pictures along a single plane and virtually eliminating any background detail, Middleton accentuates Tabitha's appealing gangliness. And Tabitha's faithful sidekick, Henry, is a little jewel of cat a plump, orange fellow whose deadpan expressions wittily embody feline solicitude. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gullane Children's Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1862331723
• ISBN 13: 9781862331723
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32