THE CROCODILE AND THE DENTIST

Crocodile has a toothache and goes to see the dentist, but each is afraid of the other.

When Crocodile realizes his tooth hurts, he knows he has to go to the dentist, but he’s afraid. The dentist knows he has to fix Crocodile’s tooth, but he doesn’t want to. They are both scared but choose to be brave and go on with the appointment. The dentist reaches into Crocodile’s mouth and looks at the cavity. Crocodile accidentally bites down on the dentist’s arm when he touches the sore tooth. (It’s not much of a bite, as there is no evident injury.) They both decide to move forward and not get angry about being hurt. In the end, the tooth is fixed, and they are in perfect agreement that neither wants to see the other again—so both are determined that Crocodile “remember to brush [his] teeth!” Using the same words for both the doctor’s and Crocodile’s perspectives, Gomi shows how different people can experience the same emotions, and the characters’ faces and body language emphasize those feelings. With a bold purple, teal, and brown color scheme, the illustrations are done in Gomi’s trademark style. The dentist—the only human character—has dark tan skin and black hair.

This fun (for readers) dental visit has underlying lessons of empathy, bravery, and good oral hygiene.