May's Libro del Mes: The Tooth Fairy Meets el Ratón Pérez

The Tooth Fairy Meets el Ratón Pérez
by René Colato Laínez
Illustrated by Tom Lintern


The LBBC’s recommendation for May’s Libro del Mes is René Colato Laínez’s The Tooth Fairy Meets el Ratón Pérez.

All children go through changes in their early years. And one of the most memorable occurrences in a small child’s life is the loss of their baby teeth. This simple, natural event carries such dramatic meaning to young minds: it marks the moment that they begin to say “adios” to their infancy, and “hola” to more responsibilities as they transform into a young adult. While terribly exciting for most, this time can be a little scary or sad for others - including their parents!

So it is with great delight that I share with you, The Tooth Fairy Meets el Ratón Pérez, a fantastical tale showing how great things can happen when two cultures come together. It is the story of how the American Tooth Fairy and the Latin American Ratón Pérez meet for the first time as they each arrive at young Miguelito’s bedroom to collect his first baby tooth. Young readers will both enjoy and learn from the characters’ subsequent struggle over the tooth and their cooperative solution.

A couple of months ago, René shared with us the story of where he found the inspiration for The Tooth Fairy Meets el Ratón Pérez. His description of how his elementary teacher changed his original essay by having him replace the character of el Ratón Pérez with the Tooth Fairy is sad and infuriating, but his ability to take the experience and use it to help him create this captivating tale is a wonderful lesson from which we can all benefit.

René has done a remarkable job with this imaginative story. I enjoyed the clever manner in which he blends the two cultural traditions and marvel at the fact that he even thought to do so. This book gives voice to the heritage of millions of children around our country, and it is done with humor and creativity. In addition, the reader will revel in Lintern’s illustrations, which are rich and brilliantly capture the magical properties of this story.

René introduces words and short phrases in Spanish to compliment the story line and develop the character of el señor Ratón Pérez. He also includes a brief history of both characters and a glossary in the back of the book.

This book is an excellent bridge for introducing the topics of cultural differences and similarities, family heritage, and cooperation. As a parent with a child close to losing her first baby tooth, I was appreciative of the fact that this story makes the process less worrisome and more exciting.

If you would like to buy your own copy of The Tooth Fairy Meets el Ratón Pérez, please click here. Or you can follow the link in our sidebar to the LBBC’s on-line store. We have both new and gently used copies available.