THE MUSEUM OF LOST TEETH

A pun-filled exploration of life after teeth.

Toothy is a well-kept tooth whose address is “Bottom Row, Left Center, Liam Taylor’s Mouth, New Jersey.” When Liam, a tan-skinned child with curly reddish-brown hair, notices that Toothy is loose, Toothy frets about his fate before finally finding himself lodged in an apple, alone. Thankfully, Liam rescues Toothy and places him under his pillow, and Felicity Fairy, a bespectacled, brown-skinned tooth fairy with curly purple hair, whisks him away to the Museum of Lost Teeth. The building is part museum, part boardinghouse for teeth of all types, some of which are silently on display while others frolic and play. The book is laced with dental-related humor and puns that will delight a dentist but will leave most children bored beyond belief. The problem is the shallow storytelling, which dashes through the museum without leaving time for Toothy’s character to develop. The stress and fear of falling out and his life-after-Liam are brushed over quickly, and the plot turns into a museum tour rather than an adventure. The digital illustrations add some color and pop, but it’s not enough to make Toothy, the museum, or the tooth-fairy industry interesting. It’s an intriguing idea but one that may have fallen out of the mouth a little too soon. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Perfect for a dentist’s office. That’s it.