Cousin Ruth's Tooth - Hardcover

MacDonald, Amy

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 039571253X ISBN 13: 9780395712535

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1996

Synopsis

The zany Fister clan returns in a wild and wacky search for Cousin Ruth's missing tooth, hunting high and low until the Queen and little Ruth find the answer to the mystery. By the author of Rachel Fister's Blister.

About this title

About the Author

Amy MacDonald’s books include Rachel Fister’s Blister, a Horn Book Fanfare title, and Quentin Fenton Herter III. She lives in Falmouth, Maine.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2?Cousin Ruth, a member of the wacky Fister clan introduced in Rachel Fister's Blister (Houghton, 1990), has lost a tooth. This everyday event throws the entire family into a riotous state, beginning with Ruth's aunt, who on the first page calls to her daughter "Rachel Fister, get your sister!" The characters' dash from page to page in search of the missing item is captured in Priceman's expressive watercolor illustrations. The text offers some very funny rhymes and jokes as different Fisters offer their personal solutions. Uncle Drew wants to stick on a new tooth with Super Glue, while cousin Keith wants to buy one at "Wal-Mart, Sears, or All-Mart." Finally, after days of searching, they decide to "ask the wisest to advise us" and fax the Queen for a solution. While they are trying to figure out her response, Cousin Ruth announces that she has found her tooth. A new one is growing under the old one. The colorful illustrations are entertaining and a perfect fit with the text. Each detail of the seemingly casual paintings has its own funny story to tell. This will be a great read-aloud, and it will also be enjoyed by beginning readers.?Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The irrepressible Fister family (Rachel Fister's Blister) is back, this time in high dudgeon over a younger clan member's missing tooth. The hunt is on, with the supremely silly family's wild-goose chase charted in an ideal marriage of text and artwork. With a few whisks of her watercolor brush, the truly priceless Priceman outlines the frenzied bustle suggested by MacDonald's madcap chronicle of the Fisters' fruitless search. The rambunctiously sly rhyming text will tickle the funny bones of preschoolers ("Check the hatbox./ Check the cat box./ Look inside the VCR") as well as of jaded elders ("Though they searched in ways most ruthless,/ after days they still were... toothless"). For added dash, Priceman has created a jazzy visual blend-dressed in outfits of yesteryear, Fisters scour such up-to-the-minute establishments as "Teeth R' Us" in search of a dental replacement. It's a perfect romp, and readers can only hope for more collaborations between these two. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

`` `Rachel Fister, get your sister!' Mrs. Fister spread the word. `Cousin Ruth has lost a tooth! O, careless youth! It's too absurd.' '' Ah, this hapless family--no sooner have they coped with Rachel Fister's Blister (1990) than a new disaster strikes and the whole clan must come ineffectually to the rescue. There are echoes of the old favorite I Can't Said the Ant in this zany melodrama by the author of The Spider Who Created the World (p. 138), and the Peterkins must be somewhere nearby. When the insistent beat of nursery rhymes is added to mayhem-filled pictures of a family out of their minds with dismay over a ``lost'' tooth, the result is priceless. The reassuring presence of Ruth, who is serene in her knowledge that a new tooth is already growing in, will give children a pleasurable feeling of smugness at the antics of this overprotective clan. A sophisticated vocabulary and carefully composed cadence make it a perfect piece to read aloud or perform. (Picture book. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 4^-6. Rachel Fister's Blister (1990) introduced the Fister family, who comically overreacted in their efforts to cure young Rachel's blister. Here they're in the midst of another "disaster" --little cousin Ruth has lost her tooth. The clan falls into chaos as they check their pockets, search the house, and propose bizarre solutions, such as buying a tooth at Wal-Mart or making one out of clay. Finally getting a word in, Ruth announces the arrival of her new tooth. As in the earlier book, the expressive watercolor illustrations are full of verve and wit. The rhyme scheme is the same too: "`We've been burgled!' / Aunt Bea gurgled. / `Call the army, call the p'lice! / Someone stole her / little molar! / Someone's robbed my little niece!'" Although not quite as fresh and funny as the first Fister book, this will still brighten story hours with its lively art and verse. Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 039571253X
• ISBN 13: 9780395712535
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Priceman Marjorie
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32