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In a magical land far above the clouds live the tooth fairies, who have built their towering castles and sprawling villages from baby teeth collected from young boys and girls the entire world over. Here the fairies play and work, go to market, operate a post office, bakery, and toy store, and much more. The inhabitants of Tooth Fairy Town enjoy a carnival, complete with a new Ferris wheel and roller coaster ride fashioned from, of course, baby teeth. When it’s time to build a new school and playground for the “tooth fairy tots,” all the fairies enter a race—appropriately titled Mission Baby Tooth—to see who can gather the most newly lost baby teeth from under the pillows of children sleeping. With wings spread, they take flight down to Earth.
Hutchinson’s picture book is imaginative, engaging, and entertaining. The author writes that she first got the idea for the series when her two daughters—to whom she dedicates the book—asked her, “Where does the tooth go, Mom?” And with that, the inspiration for the story was born. The colorful, detailed illustrations accompanying the text are delightful and serve the story well with imaginative illumination. Through the artwork, it is enjoyable to observe how tooth after tiny tooth went into the construction of the magical land and architecture of its houses, castles, shopping centers, and other structures. Additionally, at the book’s end, a handful of extra pages are included in the form of simple line drawings, wherein young readers are encouraged to use their imaginations and color in the pages any way they like. Thus, story time with this title can include both reading aloud the tale as well as engaging children in a fun coloring activity afterward.