★ A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book of 2023 ★ A 2024 USBBY Outstanding International Book ★ A Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book of 2024
Long ago, throughout the Spanish-speaking world, the Tooth Mouse brought children their permanent teeth, strong and straight as a mouse's. Tracing the Tooth Mouse's beginnings through to his descendants, this book artfully weaves the Tooth Mouse's changing habits as the world industrializes, with the growing independence of the child, as teeth fall out and the child learns to care for themselves.It's also a playful, thought-provoking history of our changing world--as even Tooth Mice and children must adapt their customs when faced with the culture-shifting forces of urbanization, migration, and capitalism...
Just remember, magic can always be recovered, and the real gift in losing baby teeth is growing up!