DORY FANTASMAGORY, HEAD IN THE CLOUDS

Dory Fantasmagory loses her first tooth.

Hanlon continues the combination of real-life 6-year-old problems and fantastic adventure that has characterized the three previous titles in this series for chapter-book readers. Over the course of seven chapters, this superimaginative first-grader deals with two quite believable issues: she gets in trouble for lying about a “BUNCHY” coat she doesn’t want to wear and, with the help of the tooth fairy, successfully vanquishes the imaginary Mrs. Gobble Gracker, who makes her behave badly. It doesn’t help that her older siblings (who invented the witch in the first book) tell her that the tooth fairy brings money only to children who are good. Dory has a very hard time being good. Told mostly in dialogue-filled prose, the story is also carried out in black-and-white illustrations, which show this freckle-faced white child and her real family, friends, neighbors, and classmates (including some people of color) as well as her imaginary horned and furry friend Mary, scary Mrs. Gobble Gracker with her long fingernails, and a wonderfully ample elderly grocery shopper she’s convinced is the tooth fairy. The family dynamics are entirely believable, and both adult and child readers can appreciate the humor.

For reading aloud and reading alone, another satisfying sequel.