Gi Hallmark | The Children’s Book Review | January 25, 2014
Where Do Our Baby Teeth Go?
By Vilasinee Bunnag, Illustrated by Yasmin Doctor
Ages: 3 and Up
Hardcover: 27 pages
Publisher: Mighty Twenty LLC (March 2015)
ISBN: 978-0-615-91927-0
What to Expect: Tooth Stories, Interactive Format, Geography, Cultural Traditions, Dental Health and Science, Colorful Illustrations
Losing baby teeth can be a complex experience that often includes excitement, nervousness, curiosity and confusion. Author Vilasinee Bunnag, along with illustrator Yasmin Doctor, have created a wonderfully interactive picture book, Where Do Our Baby Teeth Go?, to help little ones understand, celebrate, and document this rite of passage.
Bunnag starts with facts about teeth and naturally progresses into stories about traditions around the world. In addition to the United States, readers will learn about how children in almost a dozen countries, including, Mexico, South Korea, India and Sweden, celebrate losing a tooth. The turn of each page reveals a stunningly vibrant illustration of a child sharing their story about losing baby teeth in their respective countries. At the end of the book, Bunnag invites readers to write their own tooth story in the book and also offers a diagram where readers will enjoy tracking which teeth they have lost and where in the world they were when the milestone occurred.
Where Do Our Baby Teeth Go? is brilliant for the relevancy of the topic, the dual functionality as a book and scrapbook, the global and cultural perspective, and for the bright, beautiful illustrations that perfectly accompany the story. Yasmin Doctor’s talents are best showcased on the cultural traditions pages where each country is authentically represented with colorful, thoughtful, and engaging details that will transport readers around the world. Understanding that every child experiences this rite of passage is comforting to young readers and learning about the different ways cultures celebrate this milestone is interesting and a valuable lesson on geography and diversity. Where Do Our Baby Teeth Go? is a terrific book, great as a gift for any young child as they learn about and celebrate losing their baby teeth.
Add this book to your collection: Where Do Our Baby Teeth Go?, by Vilasinee Bunnag
About the Author
Vilasinee Bunnag is the founder of Mighty Twenty. Based in Brooklyn, she makes milestone gift for kids losing their baby teeth. Bunnag started making modern tooth fairy pillows and journals in 2003 for the young ones in anticipation of their universal milestone of losing baby teeth (remember wiggling your baby teeth back in the days?). Every child she gave a pillow to loved them and held on to them throughout the 6 year process of losing their baby teeth. In 2014, she launched MightyTwenty.com.
About the Illustrator
Yasmin Doctor is a graduate from the University of the Santo Tomas and a member of Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan (Ang-Ink) and was awarded the 2011 PBBY-Alcala Prize.
Where Do Our Baby Teeth Go, by Vilasinee Bunnag and Yasmin Doctor, was reviewed by Gi Hallmark. Follow along with our articles and reviews tagged with Dental Health, Diversity, Multicultural, and Cultural Wisdom to discover more great books just like this one.
