Doctor De Soto

Title: Doctor De Soto
Author/Illustrator: William Steig
Genre: Fantasy
Awards: Newbery Honor Book (1983)
Grade Level: K - 3

Doctor De Soto, with his wife assistant, was a mouse dentist who treated animals of various sizes but not animals dangerous to mice. One day, a fox with a very bad tooth came and begged the doctor to help him. Doctor De Soto took the risk to extract the bad tooth and told the fox to come the next day to get the replacement tooth. The fox debated whether or not he should eat the mice and ultimately decided that he would. Luckily, the De Sotos had a plan and had convinced the fox to use a special formula that would supposedly prevent toothaches but would actually glue his mouth shut. Students would enjoy a story about mice, the prey, outfoxing the fox, the predator. They can learn the importance of being grateful and trustworthy. I could use this book during story plot unit.

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