The Tooth by

A girl goes to the dentist and needs a tooth pulled because she ate too many sweets. There's no lesson on proper dental care here. Instead, there's a nebulous lesson on "compassion" when the girl drops her tooth in a beggar's cup. As if homeless people are not exposed to enough germs! What if this happened in real life? It would be extremely insulting to a homeless person who knows that the tooth fairy only gives money to the rightful owner for his/her teeth. This story would have had more of a "lesson" if the girl took her actual tooth fairy money and out it in the beggar's cup.

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Five Stars, November 11, 2015
By A Customer

Amazing read which children will connect with!

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Five Stars, June 11, 2015
By Zelda

A touching story that opens the door to important discussion about the homeless and compassion.

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Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children, October 06, 2010
By Econkids at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ)

Marissa has learned the hard way that eating lots of candy entails tradeoffs: she enjoys the sweets, but now she has a toothache. While walking to the dentist's office with her mom through the city streets, Marissa observes a homeless man sitting on the sidewalk grate to keep warm, with an open shoe box in front of him containing a few coins. Most people pass the man without stopping, and one man in a hurry even steps over him. Marissa wants to help but does not know how.

Aimed toward young readers, this picture book goes far beyond a simple "lost tooth" story to broach the difficult topic of homelessness. Teachers and parents can use the book to spark discussions about some of the reasons why people become homeless and why homelessness should not rob people of their identities.

1 of 3 people found the above review helpful.

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