Identity Crisis: The Very Beary Tooth Fairy by Arthur A. Levine

ZACH'S MOM TOLD HIM TO STAY AWAY FROM PEOPLE

"THEY'RE DANGEROUS AND UNPREDICTABLE," SHE WARNED.

AND ZACH DID AS HE WAS TOLD.

But Zach is young and curious, and one day he eavesdrops on a family of humans camping not far from his den and hears the mother tell the little boy to leave his loose tooth alone and wait until it comes out by itself so he can leave it under his pillow for the tooth fairy.  Since Zach, too, has a loose tooth, he now has a serious question:

IS THE TOOTH FAIRY A PERSON OR A BEAR?

Could the sweet tooth fairy be one of those "dangerous and unpredictable" people his mom warned about?

His older sister is vague, saying it "depends." Mom tells him not to worry about it, but Zach can't help himself.  He's certain that the Easter Bunny has to be a rabbit. He's pretty sure that Santa is a bear. But who is this tooth fairy? Mom says something that is absolutely no help:

"A BEAR CAN BE ANYONE, AND ANYONE CAN BE A BEAR."

Should he be worried?

And when his loose tooth finally comes out and Zach faces bedtime with his tooth under his pillow, he finds it hard to fall asleep. What will this famous tooth fairy be?

Arthur A. Levine's new The Very Beary Tooth Fairy (Scholastic, 2013) pictures the concerns of youngsters waiting for their first transaction with the fabled tooth fairy perfectly, and although Zach's experience turn out to be reassuring for little bears, this charming little beary fairy story leaves the mystery  intriguingly open for young humans. Sarah Brannen's illustrations are done in a comforting pastel palette, with an appealing ursine protagonist to do the pre-tooth-fairy worrying for the young reader. Pair this one with Lucy Bate's and Diane deGroat's classic Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth for a duet of loose tooth tales.