AIRMAIL TO THE MOON

by Tom Birdseye ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 15, 1988

When Ora Mae Cotton (Oreo to her mother) loses her first tooth, she has grand expectations about what the tooth fairy may bring--but there's nothing under her pillow in the morning, not even the tooth. Sure that it's been stolen, Oreo rants about, threatening to catch the thief and ""open up a can of gotcha and send 'em airmail to the moon!"" A poll of the family yields some rib-tickling repartee, but it's not till Oreo starts ""bawling real tears of grief"" that they rally round and the tooth is found in a satisfying, if unsurprising, conclusion. Written in tongue-in-cheek, tall-tale style, with unstintingly colorful descriptions by Oreo (""The vibration from my tongue flapping against my teeth popped that chomper of mine as loose as a goose on ice skates""), the irrepressible Oreo's story will be best appreciated aloud, preferably accompanied by Gammell's ebullient illustrations. From the frontispiece of Oreo opening the outhouse door, the Cottons evoke the lively characters from The Relatives Came, from their lifestyle to their tatterdemalion surroundings; Gammell depicts them with love and surprising beauty. Oreo herself is a memorably determined scamp.

Pub Date: April 15, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 1988

Categories: CHILDREN'S