http://www.storylineonline.net/the-tooth/
Citation:
Slodovnick, A., & Gauthier, M. (2010). The Tooth.
Tulsa, OK: Kane Miller.
Lexile Score:
AD740L
Summary:
This story is about a little girl who makes a trip to
the dentist. On her way to the dentist Marisa sees a homeless man sitting on
the street. Marisa tries to approach him, but her mother pushes her on to the
dentist. Once Marisa is done with the dentist, she sees the man again. This time
she escapes her mother’s grasp and approaches the man.
Evaluation:
Overall I have
mixed feelings about this book. I feel the storyline is great and not like many
other children’s books out there. I have never read a book that included a
homeless man, let alone a homeless man who wasn’t harassed or hurt in some
form. In this book, however, the homeless man appears to be kind, which is not
normal for many texts.
I think this book would be a great story to read to
students about helping others. I think students could learn a lot from this
book about caring and giving to those less fortunate. The only problem I have
with this text is the illustrations.
I feel the images in this book are horrible. They look
like they were drawn quickly and without much care. Everyone depicted in the
images look dirty. There is also no diversity. Everyone is white with dark hair
basically. The only good thing about the images is everyone is smiling, which
sets a positive vibe. Otherwise I felt the pictures didn’t add anything to the
text.
Literary Elements:
Characters: Marisa, Mother,
Dentist, Homeless man
Setting: Dentist office,
city streets
Tone: Generosity, kind,
caring
Mini Lesson:
For this book I
would teach people about helping others. I would discuss ways students can
become involved in their school and their communities. Depending on the age
level I would also have students participate in a community service project.
Age: 5+ w/ Adult
