Review Detail

In this beautifully illustrated book, Zach the bear has a loose tooth and worries that the tooth fairy is human and either won't visit him because he's a bear or will be dangerous to him when she does visit. The story sets up the potential to teach a valuable lesson on getting along with those who are different. The story is also poised to examine the idea that "a bear can be anyone and anyone can be a bear," but neither idea is fully realized. The text offers no resolution or examples of these ideas coming to fruition, and Zach doesn't put two and two together and internalize the lessons himself, which means young readers are left with no way to connect the dots either. I was disappointed that the story didn't live up to its potential as Mr. Levine has done fine work on other children's books.