The Museum of Lost Teeth, far from being pulled-it’s a great-goodnight book

“I have no idea why you lost your tooth or what the tooth fairy does with them”, that’s what I told a kindergarten student earlier this month. They were over the moon with curiosity as to how the tooth disappeared from underneath their pillow last night. And while they were thankful for the money that it had been displaced with, their wonderment as to where the tooth could’ve gone took up as much real estate in their mind as their sudden financial gain. The Museum of Lost Teeth is an illustrated book by Elyssa Friedland with illustrations by Gladys Jose that examines one theory as to how baby mouth bones disappear from the cool side of the pillow.

Liam is our youth who is about to lose a tooth, actually Toothy, that’s what it’s called.  After running the gauntlet of a six-year-old’s daily life, it’s finally removed when the boy bites into an apple. Toothy is taking a nap under the boy’s pillow when Felicity Fairy assuredly wakes him and tells him that they’re going on a trip.

Felicity takes him to the Museum of Lost Teeth, a grand museum where teeth take center stage. Like any great museum, there are wings and here they’ve got Wisdom Tooth Walk, Cavity Corner, Plaque Place, Canine Collection, and more. Fret not, this isn’t a toothy guilt trip, this is where Toothy simply sees other first teeth who’ve made their way out, so that kids can grow.

That doesn’t sound like too much to chew on, but here’s where young elementary audiences will adore The Museum of Lost Teeth, you adults who might be reading it to them too. The book is very, very clever. Older readers will laugh at and understand the jokes. When Toothy initially meets Felicity he says that he’s lost his nerves, to which she assures him that he has, but that he can be brave without them.

Yeah, when our teeth are no longer in our mouths their nerves aren’t connected to the nervous system. We had to remind ourselves of that too. There are many other instances in the text that have dual meanings, plenty of puns, absurd comparisons to more famous analogies, and more. There’s the Thinking Tooth, which is modeled after The Thinker, The Girl With a Pearl Earring-except with a tooth and more that kids won’t immediately laugh at, but the adults reading the book will certainly enjoy.

The combination of all of these things is that The Museum of Lost Teeth is a great-good night book. The text is wordy enough to tell a story without scaring off those young audiences who simply want a good time. The illustrations are perfectly paired with them, with some panels, some gatefolds, and one letter to Liam. Be sure to look for visual gags throughout the book, they’ll enhance the reader’s time with the book. It all starts with the book’s cover, which even has some tactile elements that pop off of it that ages six and up will love running their fingers over.

The Museum of Lost Teeth is by Elyssa Friedland with illustrations by Gladys Jose and is available on Abrams Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Abrams Books.

There are affiliate links in this post.