A Tooth Fairy's Tale

In his most accessible work to date, Christiana ( Drawer in a Drawer ; White Nineteens ) melds his chimerical artistic style with an intriguing story of a tiny tooth fairy and a giant (a boy, actually). First the tooth fairy barters with the giant for possession of a blue stone, and then, after the giant renegs, she joins forces with her father, the Sandman, to outwit him. The blue stone is not just any stone--it is the tooth fairy's mother, bewitched long ago by the giant's glance. The spell, of course, is broken and the family reunited. Christiana has a gift for juxtaposing worlds (here, the boy's and the fairy's) and creating parallel universes that through the sheer dynamism of his vision become perfectly believable. His arsenal: unusual perspectives; a dreamy, ethereal style; and a luscious, sherbet-hued palette. Readers can't help but surrender; Christiana's genius delights and entertains, and also leaves his audience pleasantly dazed. Closing the book is like closing the door on another realm, one which the reader will leave with reluctance. Ages 5-8. (Apr.)