Kirkus Reviews QR Code
SWEET TOOTH by Margie Palatini

SWEET TOOTH

by Margie Palatini & illustrated by Jack E. Davis

Pub Date: Sept. 1st, 2004
ISBN: 0-689-85159-6
Publisher: Simon & Schuster

The creators of Bedhead (2000) score again with this uproarious tale of a lad beleaguered by a aggressive sweet tooth with an attitude that’s anything but sweet. Stuck with a bad rep thanks to a molar given to bellowing out “I NEED A CANDY BAR. NOW-OW!” at inopportune moments, Stewart finally starts to fight back, switching to vegetables and, when the grouchy grinder refuses to knuckle under, pulling out the ultimate weapon: a raw carrot. A few crunches later, out comes the offending tooth, off to become a headache for the Tooth Fairy. Decorating his scenes with arrays of tempting junk food, Davis illustrates the oral onslaught with views of a grimacing tooth waving tiny fists from the mouth of a moon-faced, pop-eyed child. Readers fond of the wordplay and anatomical humor of Richard Egielski’s Buz (1995) will bite happily. (Picture book. 6-8)