The Museum of Lost Teeth: A Picture Book

by Elyssa Friedland, Gladys Jose (Illustrator)

Overview

Find out where the tooth fairy takes all those lost teeth in author Elyssa Friedland and illustrator Gladys Jose’s The Museum of Lost Teeth, a laugh-out-loud picture book, perfect for fans of School’s First Day of School.

Toothy lives in Liam’s mouth next to his best friend Fang. He’s a good tooth—sparkly and strong, and he loves doing the floss.

One day, Toothy notices that he is loose and panics! Where will he go after he leaves his comfy spot next to Fang? After a crunchy apple seals the deal, Toothy is tucked under Liam’s pillow. When the Tooth Fairy appears, she takes Toothy to the Museum of Lost Teeth. It’s a more incredible place than Toothy could have ever imagined. It’s filled with new friends and fun activities like Tooth or Dare! Toothy finds a new home on the Firsts Floor, where first baby teeth are proudly displayed.

The Museum of Lost Teeth answers the question “Where do all the lost teeth go?” in this unexpected and hilarious picture book.

“An upbeat, imaginative, and gently amusing take on tooth fairy lore.” —Booklist

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419757051
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	02/07/2023
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	668,940
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 12.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Elyssa Friedland is the bestselling author of four adult novels published by William Morrow and Berkley. She has written for the Washington Post, McSweeney’s, POPSUGAR, RealSimple.com, and Bustle, among others. She lives in New York City with her husband and three young children. The Museum of Lost Teeth is her first picture book.
Gladys Jose is an illustrator and storyteller. She graduated from the University of Central Florida in 2012, where she earned a BFA specializing in graphic design. Jose is the illustrator of a number of books for young readers, including Fresh Princess and Clayton Parker Really Really REALLY Has to Pee. She lives in the sunny state of Florida.

Editorial Reviews

There’s no mistaking the cheerful look of the digital artwork. This picture book offers an upbeat, imaginative, and gently amusing take on tooth fairy lore.

Booklist

Toothy’s adventure to his new home and Friedland’s punny dental humor ensures a giggly storytime while providing low-key reassurance to kiddos anxious about finding that first wiggly incisor. Bright, full-bleed illustrations make judicious use of white space to heighten the drama at key moments (such as Toothy flailing his legs helplessly while buried face-first in an apple), and they bring comedic energy to a multicultural supporting cast of tooth fairies, kids, and expressive cartoon chompers.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

There’s no mistaking the cheerful look of the digital artwork. This picture book offers an upbeat, imaginative, and gently amusing take on tooth fairy lore.”—Booklist

“Toothy’s adventure to his new home and Friedland’s punny dental humor ensures a giggly storytime while providing low-key reassurance to kiddos anxious about finding that first wiggly incisor. Bright, full-bleed illustrations make judicious use of white space to heighten the drama at key moments (such as Toothy flailing his legs helplessly while buried face-first in an apple), and they bring comedic energy to a multicultural supporting cast of tooth fairies, kids, and expressive cartoon chompers.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

From the Publisher

2022-10-26
A pun-filled exploration of life after teeth.

Toothy is a well-kept tooth whose address is “Bottom Row, Left Center, Liam Taylor’s Mouth, New Jersey.” When Liam, a tan-skinned child with curly reddish-brown hair, notices that Toothy is loose, Toothy frets about his fate before finally finding himself lodged in an apple, alone. Thankfully, Liam rescues Toothy and places him under his pillow, and Felicity Fairy, a bespectacled, brown-skinned tooth fairy with curly purple hair, whisks him away to the Museum of Lost Teeth. The building is part museum, part boardinghouse for teeth of all types, some of which are silently on display while others frolic and play. The book is laced with dental-related humor and puns that will delight a dentist but will leave most children bored beyond belief. The problem is the shallow storytelling, which dashes through the museum without leaving time for Toothy’s character to develop. The stress and fear of falling out and his life-after-Liam are brushed over quickly, and the plot turns into a museum tour rather than an adventure. The digital illustrations add some color and pop, but it’s not enough to make Toothy, the museum, or the tooth-fairy industry interesting. It’s an intriguing idea but one that may have fallen out of the mouth a little too soon. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Perfect for a dentist’s office. That’s it. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews