Airmail to the Moon [Paperback]

Tom Birdseye (Author), Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1989 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

When the tooth that she was saving for the tooth fairy disappears, Ora Mae sets out to find the thief and send him "airmail to the moon!"

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ora Mae Cotton, who lives in Crabapple Orchard with her family, describes losing her first tooth in tangy, colorful language, full of phrases that readers will find themselves repeating: "Hey-ho-howdy," "I'll get that little diddle-do!" and "I was popcorn-in-the-pan excited." She dreams of luxury items she will buy with money from the tooth fairy, but in the morning, her tooth is goneshe believe it has been stolenand there is no cash in sight. After vows to "open up a can of gotcha" and send the tooth-thief "airmail to the moon," Ora Mae discovers that she forgot to tuck the tooth beneath her pillow. Behind this book is a likable idea, but Ora Mae's helplessness and her fairly real distress go on a bit too long. And readers will have to create their own ending, since the book concludes as Ora Mae discovers the tooth in her pocket. Ora Mae, in Gammell's pictures, is a messy, rowdy heroine; exaggerations in the illustrations (Pa shaves out back in his boxer shorts), like those in the text, either mock or pay homage to a down-home, earthy lifestyle, depending on each reader's point-of-view. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3 Birdseye has an interesting story larded with perhaps a bit too much cornpone claptrap. Ora Mae Cotton of Crabapple Orchard, also known as Oreo, loses her first tooth, first from her mouth and then from under her pillow. She sets out to find who stole it, first checking with her mother about the Tooth Fairy's honesty. In tracking down the culprit she promises to ``open up a can of gotcha and send `em airmail to the moon.'' As she confronts various family members she gets some fresh interpretations of just what that Tooth Fairy might be doing with all those teeth she collects. These range from turning them into doorknobs to saving them to give to babies. Gammell's colorful pencil drawings carry out the down-home rickety flavor from the title page outhouse to the pig waller. If the country flavor is spread a bit thick, the underlying story does work. It may even add to the satisfaction when old ``motor-mouth'' Oreo finds her tooth and gets her embarrassing comeuppance. Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 26 pages
• Publisher: Holiday House (March 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823407543
• ISBN-13: 978-0823407545
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.7 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #300,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This was one of my favorite books when I was little, June 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Airmail to the Moon (Hardcover)

I am 11 now and I still think that this is one of the greatest books I read when I was little. It is cute and I loved it I wanted my dad to read it to me over and over again. I still think that it is a good book.

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Kids Book, June 20, 2011

By 

N. Grebe (WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Airmail to the Moon (Paperback)

This is, hands down, my children's FAVORITE book. It begs to be read with different voices, volumes and accents, and don't be surprised if any adults around you get caught up in the story and laugh as much as the kids do. It is priceless, and we love it. Gift it to a child you love, and read it the minute you get it. (I would recommend pre-reading it a few times before you read it to kids if you want your delivery to be flawless... some of the phrases used in the story are a little hard to get out right the first time.)

5.0 out of 5 stars My kids loved this book!, March 15, 2010

By 

Abook (Lehigh Acres, FL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Airmail to the Moon (Hardcover)

This is a 6 star book, in my opinion. My children are 10, 7, and 4. All of them loved it when I read this book that is written in a distinctively southern/country accent. It is the cutest story ever of a little girl whose lost tooth got "stolen." Who done it? She doesn't know. But when she finds 'em, she is going to open up a can of gotcha, and send `em air mail to the moon. I imagine I will be able to quote this book by heart by the time my 3 children out grow this book. My children already can.