A Closer Look

The Story Behind the Story

I was writing a column for Nick Jr. Magazine called “Kids Like You” in which I interviewed kids around the world about their everyday lives. I asked six-year-old Sophie, a little girl in Paris, “What happens when you lose a tooth in France?” She said, “You give it to the Tooth Mouse, of course!” I had never heard of such a thing. The more I researched, the more I found that many countries (Algeria, Argentina, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Morocco, Russia, Spain, Slovenia, South Africa, Switzerland, Venezuela, and more) have a Tooth Mouse instead of a Tooth Fairy. Italy has both!

I also discovered a 17th century story about the Tooth Mouse, La Bonne Petite Souris, written by Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy. She was one of the most prolific fairy tale writers of the French Salons and the person credited with the term fairy tale (contes de fées). D’Aulnoy’s story is quite long, and like many fairy tales, it’s filled with murder, deceit, and revenge. Don’t get me wrong. I loved fairy tales as a child and still do. But I wanted to write a younger, gentler story—my own modern tale with some wordless graphic novel elements—and yet include the quests and challenges I loved in books as a child. Et voilà! My Tooth Mouse got her name from the little girl who first told me about her.

The Tooth Mouse Activities