The T. F. Letters

Seven-and-a-half-year-old Alex Vandershoot has always thought of herself as an average kid, but when she finally loses her first baby tooth and develops a written relationship with the tooth fairy, T.F., she realizes that her life is quite magical.

Grade 2-4?Seven-year-old Alex Vandershoot, excited by the long-awaited loss of her first tooth, writes a note to the Tooth Fairy asking if she can keep it. When the T.F. responds with a beautifully penned note of her own, Alex is delighted. In the months that follow, teeth fall out of her mouth "like rain," giving the child an opportunity to develop a lively correspondence with her new friend. The letters provide a wonderful opportunity to ask important questions and express her unhappiness about her family's move from Texas to California. The T.F.'s humorous, and wise, responses provide information on fairy life
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A girl's heartfelt letters to the Tooth Fairy propel Ray's (Sleep Song; To Cross a Line) occasionally coy novel. After Alex loses her first tooth (at the rather late age of almost eight), she writes to the "Tuth Ferry" to beseech her to leave the tooth behind when she drops off the monetary reward. And, in a P.S. that sets the tone for subsequent correspondence, Alex spills a bit of her soul: "Maybe you could do something about my dad's job. If your not too bizzy." Since her father's job is "going away," Alex and her family are to relocate from Texas to California, a change that the girl understandably fears. In her guise as the Tooth Fairy, Alex's likable mother, a commercial artist, pens some memorable lines, ranging from the wise ("Someday you may really need those worries, so don't use them all up now") to the wry ("There are strict rules about what we magical creatures can do. Otherwise... vegetables would be an endangered species, and there would be ponies in bedrooms all over town"). The move, of course, goes well, and Alex finds a new best friend in Peggy, perhaps the most refreshing character here. But there are a number of credibility gaps, including the rapidity with which Alex's baby teeth fall out. Furthermore, most kids at this reading level have outgrown their belief in the tooth fairy, and they will likely lose patience with what they will perceive as Alex's na?vet?. Ages 8-10.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When Alex loses her first tooth, she doesn't want to surrender it to the tooth fairy, though she certainly does want to collect the traditional cash. After putting a note under her pillow about keeping the tooth, she receives a letter, on very fancy paper, in return, beginning a correspondence. Since Alex's family is moving from Texas to California, she has a lot on her mind, and she finds that the tooth fairy has sensible advice and support to offer. Ray supplies plenty of clues as to the identity of the tooth fairy (Alex's mother is a card designer) but never gives it away so completely that youngsters who believe the myth will be disillusioned. Alex is winsomely down-to-earth and her concerns are very true to life in this sensitive, keenly observed, and funny novel. Susan Dove Lempke