VERA GOES TO THE DENTIST

Why do you need to go to the dentist if all your teeth are going to fall out anyway? No mom really has a good answer to that age-old question, but a little preventative maintenance never hurt anyone. Little Vera is faced with her first visit to the dentist along with her bigger sisters, and at least it means that she’s getting bigger! While her cowgirl skirt bolsters her sense of courage, nothing prepares her for the terror of . . . of . . . the dentist’s whirring tooth polisher. Vera bolts and everyone chases her around the block. But a little knowledge goes a long way, and she is convinced to return to the chair, and is rewarded with a set of bright, shiny teeth. Rosenberry’s fourth, funny installment of the Vera stories (Vera Runs Away, 2000, etc.) takes away the fear of the unknown of that first trip to the dentist. The gouache illustrations are detailed enough so that little children and their folks can pick out all the machines and other utensils they’ll see in the modern day dentists’ lair, er, office. Unlike Vera, they’ll know just what to expect and have the extra reward of another first-time adventure from the indefatigable heroine of this series. Now we know why God invented dental hygienists, seat belts, and tic-tac-toe. (Picture book. 4-7)