April and Esme Tooth Fairies Paperback – Picture Book, April 9, 2013

April and Esme Underhill are the children of Tooth Fairy parents, living in a tiny house nestled against a tree stump. Imagine seven-year-old (and three quarters!) April's surprise and joy when she gets a request for a tooth pick-up, her very first. What's more, she's going to bring her little sister Esme along. At first her parents say no, but they gradually come around, and the two girls are off on a splendid adventure, carrying a coin in a mesh bag as they fly across the countryside and into the suburban home where one Daniel Dangerfield is sleeping. They make the money/tooth exchange, though not without incident, then wing home in triumph.This story is pretty simple, but it's just so lovely, and there are two reasons for that: first, Bob Graham's text shows a rich awareness of how real people, especially real children, talk and act. For example, April gets the tooth request on her cell phone, and when she hangs up and her dad asks what the call was about, she replies, "Don't say anything, Daddy... We're collecting a boy's tooth tonight, and I have to write this down." Later, when she and Esme reach Daniel's house and are wondering where his room is, they decide their best bet is to follow the trail of toys. Look also for a funny moment in Daniel's grandmother's room.The other reason April and Esme is so very nice is Graham's endearing artwork. It's hard to believe his illustrations can be so darn cute without being overly sentimental. Watch for mundane yet clever details: the teeth swinging from the ceiling of the Underhills' cottage, the way Mrs. Underhill takes a bath in a (human sized) teacup and plays a game with her winged children using her blow dryer, also the fact that the toilet is apparently made from an egg cup. (I think the sink is a thimble.) As always, Graham's characters are sturdy and ordinary looking, though here they have the minor addition of wings. Even the family dog has fairy wings!Graham understands that real life is just a bit grungy, so his cover art, while it shows the two little girls flying through the night above some flowers, includes a popsicle stick and a soda can tab amongst the dandelion leaves and grass. Plus the kids' clothes are slightly mismatched and askew.This small team runs into a surprising difficulty during the tooth retrieval, but April handles things with perfect logic and even panache. Upon their return home, the two fairy children are greeted with lots of hugs, and we get a hint about the eventual fate of the teeth that have been collected. Graham makes an interesting decision on the last page: he ends the story with a wistful, wide-angle glimpse of the little cottage dreaming on its hill. The language in this brief epilogue sounds like something out of a fairy tale... Which only makes sense.I think what I like best about Bob Graham is how lovingly he portrays families--and what loving families he portrays. I also recommend his books How to Heal a Broken Wing and "Let's Get a Pup!" Said Kate.

Delightful! I bought this for my granddaughter who is soon to lose her first tooth.Seven year old tooth fairies in training who communicate via cell phone are adorable.Bob Graham is a genius and his art is just amazing.

I found this story too simple, even for my 4 year old granddaughter. There is also at least one gap in the plot.

April and Esme are a 6 and 7 years old and have been requested for their first assignment to gather a tooth! How very exciting... if their parents agree to let them take the job.I love the idea of glimpsing a tooth fairy's normal life! And I liked how the story was as much about being tooth fairies as it was about parents' coming to terms with their children growing up.So, for me personally this book was more of a three star, but I can see the appeal so I'm giving it four.I just found the style was sometimes classic and charming, and sometimes hip and modern, and never really settled. Ditto on the illustrations.Still all in all it's pretty cute!

When Daniel Dangerfield looses his first tooth, his grandmother gives two fairies, April and Esme Underhill, a call. The two young tooth fairies take off into the night sky, dropping down to Daniel's doorstep. Finding the tooth in a glass of water, April swims to the bottom of the glass to pick it up. When Daniel wakes for a moment, the two young fairies tell him that they are "spirits of the air," disappearing down the hall to take a peak into his grandmother's room. Flying off into the night, the two fairies travel home to sleep tight through the rest of the night. This is a lovely picture book for young children, ages 4-7, curious about the origins of the tooth fairy.