Here Comes the Tooth Fairy Cat

Crafty Cat (Here Comes Santa Cat) wants to meet the Tooth Fairy. She sends him a fairy costume, a mouse assistant, and a note: "if you help me...maybe we can meet." Cat collects teeth from several challenging locations--and learns that fairies can be tricky, too. Ink and colored-pencil illustrations allow characters to communicate through actions, facial expressions, and placards.

Cat, who wanted to steal the Easter Bunny’s spotlight (Here Comes the Easter Cat, rev. 3/14) and bypass the naughty list by impersonating Santa (Here Comes Santa Cat, rev. 11/14), is back and craftier than ever. Now he wants to meet the Tooth Fairy, but she’s already taken his tooth under cover of night. His attempt to lure her back with a comb’s tooth fails, but she sends him his own fairy costume and a note assuring him, “if you help me with a few deliveries, maybe we can meet.” Cat, in cahoots with a new mouse assistant assigned by the Tooth Fairy, manages to collect teeth from several challenging locations, and learns in a surprise twist that fairies can be tricky, too. Underwood crafts yet another original plot within the format established by the previous two books. As before, Rueda’s ink and colored-pencil illustrations allow Underwood’s characters (none of whom actually speak) to communicate clearly with the offstage narrator through actions, facial expressions, and the occasional placard, while white space creates a sense that the narrator’s opinionated voice echoes within the pages. The lost-tooth canon, smaller than the Christmas canon and maybe even the Easter-bunny canon, has plenty of space for this welcome addition. shoshana flax