Doctor De Soto

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Summary: De Soto: Mouse Dentist Extraordinaire!
Review: The author William Steig will be forever missed for his clever and delightful stories for the kiddie set. In "Doctor De Soto", Steig places the action in a land where such stories as "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble" have taken place. In the story, animals of all types interact just as humans do, all the while retaining some very wild aspects. The story takes place in what looks to be the 1930s. As in Steig's "When Everybody Wore a Hat", the animals look as if they'd be comfortable listening to the radio and discussing President Roosevelt's reforms before going to bed each night. Dr. De Soto is a mouse dentist, who runs a quiet family practice with his wife. Normally, the De Soto's do not treat carnivorous animals but that rule changes when a pitiful fox comes to them with a toothache. Steig's drawings are sometimes easily dismissed as simplistic. This is not the case. Tiny details dot the illustrations, giving each page the feel of a snapshot into another world. The stairs leading to the De Soto office are separated into two types, large for bigger animals (donkeys, pigs, etc.) and smaller for woodland creatures. Dr. De Soto himself has set up a series of pulleys that allow him to work in the larger animals' mouths. Kids will like the book, gleefully observing the picture where a bloody infected tooth is pulled from the fox's mouth (little droplets of blood falling to the ground). If there is a moral to the story, it's probably to be vigilant. But who picks up a Steig book for a moral? This is just a fun piece of kid literature that everyone will like. It probably works best as an introductory text to the world of William Steig. Just be sure not to miss it.

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Summary: Vinny Fusco's Review
Review: This book teaches an excellant lesson to young readers. This, I feel is the books strongest asset. It teaches children to not take advantage of people and when a hungry fox tries to eat his helpful mouse dentist and his wife, he winds up with his mouth glued together. The good dentist and his wife are weary about accepting a fox as a patient because they are mistrustful, but when the pathetic fos pleads for their help with a severe toothache, they accept the cahllenge. Eventually they outsmart the mischevious fox resulting in a happy ending.

Rating:
Summary: A gentle and witty book, sure to delight children and adults
Review: This tale of a gentle and clever mouse dentist who outwits a hungry fox charmed my children. It's a delightfully witty book and a pleasure to read to children, who will request it over and over again!