Mabel the Tooth Fairy and How She Got Her Job [Hardcover]

Katie Davis (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

Mabel, the tooth fairy, hated brushing, and she hated flossing, and, well, you can imagine what happened to her choppers. It was disgusting. But then she came up with a plan to get her smile back . . . .
With all the charm and sly humor that has made her a favorite of booksellers and librarians, Katie Davis gives us the story the fairy tales censor. It will have you laughing so hard your teeth will fall out! (Just be sure to leave them under your pillow.)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-Mabel Becaharuvic is a 42,364-year-old fairy who began her career performing everyday, run-of-the-mill magic. She neglected her teeth and eventually lost most of them. Unable to eat the food she desires, the desperate spirit devises a plan and a change in careers. She takes the teeth that children naturally lose (there's nothing here to indicate that she leaves anything behind for them) and attempts to make herself a new set of choppers. The blue-skinned, green-haired pixie gathers a huge pile of teeth but none fits her mouth well. After striking up a friendship with a dentist, Dr. Les Payne, Mabel gets a new set of teeth, assists the man in his work, and continues her visits to children in the night. The pictures are presented in a variety of perspectives and layouts, some with speech balloons that further the cartoon tone of the story. Davis's trademark bright acrylic illustrations catch the eye but the ho-hum story does not warrant repeated readings. Are children really going to warm up to a story that mentions halitosis, gingivitis, false teeth, plaque, and comprehensive dental coverage? It's highly unlikely.
Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

PreSchool-Grade 1-Mabel Becaharuvic is a 42,364-year-old fairy who began her career performing everyday, run-of-the-mill magic. She neglected her teeth and eventually lost most of them. Unable to eat the food she desires, the desperate spirit devises a plan and a change in careers. She takes the teeth that children naturally lose (there's nothing here to indicate that she leaves anything behind for them) and attempts to make herself a new set of choppers. The blue-skinned, green-haired pixie gathers a huge pile of teeth but none fits her mouth well. After striking up a friendship with a dentist, Dr. Les Payne, Mabel gets a new set of teeth, assists the man in his work, and continues her visits to children in the night. The pictures are presented in a variety of perspectives and layouts, some with speech balloons that further the cartoon tone of the story. Davis's trademark bright acrylic illustrations catch the eye but the ho-hum story does not warrant repeated readings. Are children really going to warm up to a story that mentions halitosis, gingivitis, false teeth, plaque, and comprehensive dental coverage? It's highly unlikely.
Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI
  (School Library Journal )

Davis (Who Hops?) blends dental hygiene tips and appropriately tongue-in-cheek humor in her latest picture book. Mabel Becaharuvic is just an ordinary wish-granting fairy for many of her 42,364 years. But Mabel also spends these years neglecting her teeth, not brushing, flossing or seeing the dentist. As a lonely and almost-toothless fairy, Mabel decides to take action (and the baby teeth of kids, who lose them all the time) to form a new set of her own. Therein, the famed tooth fairy's work has its humble, if shaky beginnings. Luckily, a new dentist friend helps Mabel take a bite out of life-and keep her important night job. A bold palette (Mabel is sky blue with chartreuse hair and a colorful wardrobe) injects a quirky pizzazz, and Davis's humor, ranging from slightly sarcastic to downright silly, gives kids of tooth-losing age an enjoyable behind-the-scenes look at a mysterious figure-and an easy-to-swallow message. Ages 5-8. (Publishers Weekly )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (September 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152163077
• ISBN-13: 978-0152163075
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,514,068 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Parsons School of Design, Institute of Art, Rhode Island School of Design...
Katie Davis has walked by all these schools of fine art.
She has attended none of them.

Now children's author/illustrator Katie Davis has published nine books and appears monthly on the ABC affiliate show, Good Morning Connecticut, recommending great books for kids. She produces Brain Burps About Books, a podcast about kidlit (available on iTunes), with an affiliated blog and monthly newsletter. Katie volunteers in a maximum security prison teaching Writing for Children and over the last dozen years has presented at schools and writing conferences. She's a 2010 Cybils judge and has also judged the Golden Kite, smartwriters.com, and Frontiers in Writing awards. Recently Katie was selected to be on the Honorary Advisory Board for the Brooke Jackman Foundation, a literacy-based charity.

Her picture book titles include Little Chicken's Big Day (with Jerry Davis) Kindergarten Rocks!; Mabel the Tooth Fairy and How She
Got Her Job; I Hate To Go To Bed!; Scared Stiff; Who Hoots?; Party Animals; and
Who Hops? Her first novel for children is The Curse of Addy McMahon (Greenwillow).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Educators Recommend!, February 22, 2004

By 

Education Oasis "Education Oasis" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mabel the Tooth Fairy and How She Got Her Job (Hardcover)

Mabel, a blue-skinned, green-haired, pink-winged fairy is, unfortunately, almost toothless. (The result of not brushing, flossing, and visiting her dentist regularly.) One day she hits upon the perfect idea: She will become a tooth fairy! With all the teeth she collects-and some really, really, really, really sticky glue-she will make herself a new set of choppers!

"After a while, Mabel had an impressive selection of molars, bicuspids, canines, and lateral incisors. But no matter how many teeth she tried, she never found the perfect fit."

Alas, after all her hard work, she finds herself alone with no friends and no teeth to call her own.

So, it's off to the WikiWikiWacky Seaside Resort for a little R&R. She beachcombs, she snorkels, she plays tennis, she lies on the beach supping on applesauce and Jell-O through a straw. Such is the life of a toothless fairy.

One day, at a sand castle contest, she meets Dr. Les Payne, who just happens to be a dentist. With their mutual affinity for teeth, they become quick friends. Life was good for Mabel. But soon she realizes all the little toothless tykes are missing her. She simply has to get back to work! Would this be the end of her one and only friendship?

No! Luckily Les has a plan. Mabel will be his dental assistant during the day and the tooth fairy at night. Of course, working for a dentist has its perks-like free floss and comprehensive dental coverage. And so our toothy tale ends with Mabel dazzling us with her new, bright, white smile.

The story itself is clever and quite funny. The colorful, cartoon-like illustrations make it doubly so.

We took Mabel into a classroom for a read-aloud. The split-age classroom of first and second graders gave her five stars (their highest rating) and asked for it to be read again. Mabel is still there and currently has a waiting list of eager readers. Highly Recommended.

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My daughter loved this!, February 23, 2005

By 

ElizabethN (Cincinnati, OH) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mabel the Tooth Fairy and How She Got Her Job (Hardcover)

We checked this book out from the library and we read it so many times, we all had it memorized before we had to return it. My daughter is 4 and this was one book she was sad to return. We haven't read it for about 6 months now and she still draws pictures to emulate the ones from the story-- obviously it made quite an impression on her. We will most likely be buying this book for her to keep since she loved it so much.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Colorful and cleverly written, June 18, 2004

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mabel the Tooth Fairy and How She Got Her Job (Hardcover)

"Mabel the Tooth Fairy and How She Got the Job," by Katie Davis, is a picture book that tells how the title character goes from being "just a regular old fairy" to becoming the world-famous Tooth Fairy. Writer-illustrator Davis combines wacky, cartoony illustrations with a clever and enjoyable text.

The blue-skinned, green-haired Mabel is a character with a lot of visual appeal. The pictures are bursting with bright, bold colors; there are also lots of witty sight gags and other enjoyable details. The book contains positive messages about friendship, responsibility, having pride in one's work, and practicing good oral hygiene. The combination of these educational elements with light-hearted humor makes this book a real gem. I recommend "Mabel" not only for children, but also as a fun gift for any dental professional.