Review - Anna and the Tooth Fairy

Anna and the Tooth Fairy
by Maureen Wright
illustrated by Anna Chernyshova
Date: 2017
Publisher: Two Lions
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 36
Format: e-book
Source: Amazon.ca

Anna has a loose tooth—and the Tooth Fairy will be coming to visit soon! As Anna’s excitement grows, she realizes that Sophie, her baby sister, must be a Tooth Fairy in training. Sophie is always up at night, her rattle looks just like a magic wand, and she’s even learning to fly! So Anna begins to teach her little sister all the skills she’ll need to be the best Tooth Fairy ever. But what will happen when Sophie is no longer in training? Will she go away? It’s up to the big sister to make sure that never happens!

Maureen Wright’s charming text and Anna Chernyshova’s adorable artwork combine in this sweet story of sibling friendship.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

In Anna and the Tooth Fairy, a little girl becomes convinced that her baby sister is training to be a Tooth Fairy. But she's worried because it means her sister will have to leave and won't be able to play with her anymore. So the girl tries various methods to prevent her tooth from falling out. Eventually, she's reassured by her mother that her little sister isn't going to go anywhere.

I'm not sure if the mom realized why Anna was so worried. Anna tells her mother only that, if she loses her tooth, Sophie will have to go away. The mom simply reassures her that the baby isn't going anywhere; she probably just thinks her kid got a weird cause-and-effect thought in her head for some reason. Nowhere does Anna explain to her parents that she thinks the baby is a future Tooth Fairy. I kind of wish she had, because that could've been a good opportunity to teach kids about clearly communicating their feelings when they're worried about something.

The illustrations are really cute, and aside from a strange continuity hiccup in the beginning, they follow the story rather well. I like the colourful, cartoon-like style. There's something almost retro about them, too, which I find kind of appealing.

Overall, this is a decent story about a little girl's assumptions. It's amusing enough, and although I didn't love it, I can see it having appeal to kids (especially ones who are at the tooth-losing age).

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 4/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.33 out of 5