Dave and the Tooth Fairy

A fresh angle on the Tooth Fairy features appealing contemporary black characters, but strips the dental-minded damsel of her magical aura. Dave is thrilled when ``his biggest sneeze ever'' causes a loose tooth to shoot out of his mouth. His excitement and, later, his concern as he searches for his tooth come through beautifully in Hunt's crisp, super-realistic colored-pencil illustrations. When Dave's visiting grandfather jokes that he once sneezed so hard that ``all my teeth flew out,'' Dave is inspired to pinch Grandad's dentures. The scene then shifts to a sterile Tooth Fairyland (complete with computer and pager), where the lonesome Tooth Fairy, Afiya, avidly seeks a job where she can ``meet more children when they are awake.'' Clad in modern dance garb with detachable wings, Afiya answers Dave's call but quickly exits his room, unable to afford Grandad's 32 teeth. Luckily, Grandad makes the important swap before morning (a pictorial gaffe here shows Aifya on-duty sans wings); Dave gets his reward and Afiya lands a job in a kite shop (where Dave spends his bounty). Everybody's happy--except that the position of Tooth Fairy goes unfilled. Ages 3-10. (June)