What's not to love about Lydia Monk's eye-catching illustrations depicting a story about a tooth fairy for animals? A fantastic concept written unusually, for Julia Donaldson, in prose. Young readers will love finding out what the tooth fairy leaves for each animal in exchange and can have fun designing their own ideas for different animals. Crocodile is a great, sneaky character who adds peril, high-stakes and a repetitive pattern to the story. We really liked how the other animals were revisited and became part of the plot. There was a clever, unexpected solution which was gently humorous and had the feel of a classic fairytale or aesop fable. Great fun, colourful characters and joyful visuals.

Colourful, reassuring tooth fairy story for curious little tooth-brushers.

Familiar illustrations (Singing Mermaids, Ladybirds, etc) and a name children know, together bringing another eye-catching title to the ears of bedtime listeners.

Ruth Mary is a tooth fairy, usually tasked with collecting teeth from under children's pillows. But now she's tasked with jungle-bound ivories... a whole pile of animal teeth won't collect themselves. With lots of repetition and friendly animals, all is well for Ruth Mary. Until of course that familiar (think Roald Dahl) crocodile sees the chance of a scrummy little munch. And Ruth Mary's broken wing might spell trouble for her!

Picture-book sized adventures, and a happy and question-inspiring ending will have young children happy to leave their teeth under pillows, asking parents all those awkward questions that now, at least, have an answer!

Not a rhyming story, but a lovely read-aloud.

For ages 3-7.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

Another lovely book from Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks. A great conversational book about losing teeth and the tooth fairy. What will happen with the crocodile? What happens when animals lose their teeth. I always enjoy the rhyming of these books and the brilliant pictures.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Books for this ARC

You can’t go wrong with a Julia Donaldson book, loved this and as usual there was some catchy bits in it that you find yourself reacting after you’ve read it. A great read for me and my daughter.

Another hit from Jilia Donaldson and Lydia Monk. The bright , colourful illustrations perfectly complement the story. A great book for all those children who are beginning to lose their teeth. I can't wait to share it with my class.
Thanks to Netgalley.

The Tooth Fairy and The Crocodile by Julia Donaldson a NetGalley review. This beautiful story is about a tooth fairy called Ruth Mary who’s collecting teeth off of a variety of jungle animals and it doesn’t all go to plan, especially regarding the teeth of a crocodile! I read this book with my daughter who’s 7 and I would say although she’s not to old for this give it another year and she probably would be wasn’t that’s based on the ease with which she read it. My daughter is a huge fan of this author and when I asked out of five stars how many she gave it, she said she said 100 stars! So I think it’s safe to say if your child loves this author then it’s going to be a hit, great for reading together to those kids that are younger and great for my daughters age to read alone. It’s full of all the things you would expect and what an imagination Julia Donaldson has and it never fails and this imagination jumps off the pages with the amazing illustrations from Lydia Monks. This story is full of adventure and it’s so much fun, great for reluctant readers, children that love animals, seeing through the illustrations this little fairy trying to collect the teeth of the jungle animals. It will make your children laugh out laugh and it’s full of beautiful bright colours. My daughter said her two favourite bits were where the bear put the jar on the crocodiles mouth and when the fairy queen appeared! If you are new to this authors books this is a great place to start. It’s without a doubt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ from me and a hundred stars from a very enthusiastic seven year old! ❤️📚📚the only thing I would say is that we read it in the kindle but there was a couple of pages missing.

Julia Donaldson is a master of rhythm and patterns, and still manages to create unique story worlds and invent lovely characters.
She is one of the top writers of modern fairy tales that will be told forever.

First of all, one wonders - how do a tooth fairy and a crocodile meet? The teeth?
Well, you will see.

Equal mix of adventure, anticipation and coming full circle, this book is about - I was going to say solidarity, good deeds and helping others, but it is about fun. The point is to have fun while reading it. Then there are some lovely themes incorporated into the story, but these are more subtle.

I find the illustration style fresh and appealing. My child enjoyed this book with me. A great book to read to and with younger children and might help start the conversation about losing baby teeth.

Ruth Mary, the Tooth Fairy is usually your typical tooth fairy. You lose a tooth; she comes on over and trades it for a coin or two. That is until the Fairy Queen decides to send Ruth Mary on a special adventure. It’s not always little boys and girls that lose teeth but animals too, and why shouldn’t they get something for providing a shiny gnasher for the tooth fairies? So armed with a few special treats and a map, Ruth Mary sets off on a night of unplanned adventure. Will she complete her mission and manage to trade all her gifts for teeth, or will she be trumped by obstacles that threaten to bring her to a grizzly end?

Longer than the usual Donaldson books, this one is aimed at children between the ages of three and seven years of age. Just the name of the main character alone shows the typical Donaldson flair for rhymes. Whilst there is less rhyming than in her earlier works aimed at younger children, this book contains just enough to provide a jaunty flow. It also has a catchy hook for the younger of the target audience to join in with if they fancy trying out their reading/memory skills.

Lydia Monks does a great job of supporting the text with her illustrations. There is a wonderful contrast of dark and light backgrounds. The black pages depicting night interspersed between light pages where dreams or daylight is represented are impactful and aesthetically pleasing.

The story does a great job of weaving the benefits of doing nice things for others. Though you may not do it with expectation, you find people are a lot more likely to show up in your time of need than if you are mean to everyone you come across.
As mentioned, this is a little longer than I’m used to with a Donaldson book. Therefore, it is suited for children with a little patience to enjoy Storytime, although the vibrant, detailed pictures are sure to engage the reader/listener. For a fairy book, it is not typically ‘girly’ in ‘pink’ and comes across quite inclusive for all children. If I were to liken it to other stories, I would say it was a splash of The Three Little Pigs, A Dash of The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and a mish mash of The Gruffalo. So, if that appeals to your young person, this is a 5-star book for you to enjoy.

There is no denying the words of Julia Donaldson and the illustrative talent of Lydia Monks create wonderful books together- What the Ladybird Heard series is a winner...
The Tooth Fairy and the Crocodile is another wonderful book for the under 7s- a perfect bedtime story or KS1 /EYFS read- reminiscent of the gingerbread man with a wonderful chase.
The Tooth Fairy is asked to reward a group of animals after they lose a tooth - a bear, monkey , an elephant but when she tries to collect the tooth of a crocodile things go wrong
Written in Julia Donaldson's inimitable style and brought to life with the vivd and exciting images of Lydia Monks this is pitch perfect for young story lovers. The language is carefully considered and repetitive elements will build confidence in younger readers. It would be easy imagining in the classroom that children write an extra section about an animal of their choice.
A wonderful read- highly recommended