Andrew's Loose Tooth

March 30, 1998
This slim, paper-over-board volume by the creators of The Paper Bag Princess and Alligator Baby gives some loose-tooth cliches a slapstick spin. When Andrew's wobbly, hurting tooth prevents him from eating an apple, his mother yanks at it futilely with both hands. His father then puts his foot on the boy's nose and attempts to pull it with pliers. However, this effort is no more successful than the dentist's endeavor to tie one end of a rope to the tooth and the other to his car (which falls apart when he drives away), or the tooth fairy's attempted extraction with a hammer. A vigorous sneeze (brought on by his best friend's idea that Andrew inhale pepper) finally does the trick, sending the tooth flying through the air, "all the way across town." Martchenko's watercolor cartoons embellish the tale's hyperbole with funky touches: wearing beads and sandals, the ponytailed dentist arrives in a car boasting a giant rooftop tooth; and the leather-clad, motorcycle-riding tooth fairy sports a necklace studded with specimens of her trade. Although it's all quite inane, Munsch fans will be thoroughly entertained. Ages 3-6.