An entertaining behind-the-scenes look at tooth fairies.
In this debut chapter book, a tooth fairy intends to be the best collector ever.
In Brushelot, Batina’s oversized fairy wings sometimes make her clumsy, but she’s determined they won’t get in her way on her first day on the job as a tooth collector. Batina joins her friends Lainey and Lulu to get their assignments. One fairy, Jolene, didn’t study and failed the collector tests; she’s a bully who wears toothpicks in her hair. Collection goes well, but the teeth must be inspected, because only well-brushed ones can be transformed into fairy dust—without it, the enchanted beings can’t fly. First, Batina almost loses her tooth in the Inspection Department. Then the conveyor belt to the Manufacturing Department gets stuck (a toothpick is found in the works) and, finally, the Super-Duper Magic Dust-Making Machine won’t start. But teamwork and determination, with Batina in the lead, solve these problems, and even Jolene helps out—her toothpick making a vital link in the fairy chain of power that restarts the Dust-Making Machine. Batina’s perseverance is recognized at that night’s ceremony, and she credits her friends, even thanking Jolene, for the roles they played. Jolene apologizes for sabotaging the conveyor belt, and all are friends now. In her book for kids ages 5 to 9, Ditto underlines the importance of well-brushed teeth from a tooth fairy’s point of view, an intriguing choice since children are generally more interested in what the collector leaves under their pillows. The book is less about good dental hygiene and more about the virtues of teamwork, persistence, friendship, and honesty. But the morals are lightened by the story’s humor and charm; Jolene’s perverse use of toothpicks (not recommended by dentists) is a great touch, making her reformation almost a shame. The colorful illustrations by Utomo (Mayanito’s New Friends, 2017, etc.) skillfully capture this magical world, from gauzy wings to metal contraptions. The characters are depicted with a wide range of expressions, although all appear to be white.
An entertaining behind-the-scenes look at tooth fairies.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9967559-1-7
Page Count: 50
Publisher: Ditto Enterprises
Review Posted Online: July 7, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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