Carol's Reviews > Doctor De Soto

So many of William Steig’s storybooks would fit for this particular age group (7-9 years); however, Dr. De Soto, a Newbery Honor Book, is special in many ways. The plot involves a mouse who happens to be a dentist and his wife/assistant who together decide to treat a red fox with a painfully rotten tooth in spite of the obvious risk that the fox will eat Dr. De Soto and probably his wife, too. Most children are able to relate to the experience of going to a dentist, also they can see the humor in a little mouse agreeing to treat a huge fox, especially when the mouse must spend time in the fox’s mouth which is a very dangerous place to be. Even though they fear for their lives,the dentist and his wife make the choice to help the fox who is in great pain because they believe it is the right thing to do. This risk-taking and tough decision-making would appeal to readers of this age group as they are now able to understand and accept others’ perspectives. Another wonderful attribute of this book is the ironic twist at the end. Dr. De Soto and his wife outsmart the fox who is definitely planning to eat them by gluing his mouth shut under the pretense that the solution will protect his teeth. The illustrations are fun and consistent with the story, and the act of visiting a dentist’s office represents an experience that most people in a community would have. Perhaps, the best attribute of this book is that it highlights the process of problem solving when confronted with a moral dilemma, and Steig does this in a very amusing way.

Ages 7-9 years
Attention-getting example of problem-solving
Introduction to a unit on making choices
Teaching the concept of irony