Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow / El cojín especial para El Ratón Pérez by Ann Morris (Lexi's Tooth Fairy Pillow for short) tells the story of a grandmother whose granddaughter lost a tooth. The granddaughter was worried that the tooth fairy wouldn't come if she didn't have a tooth fairy pillow. Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow is written in both English and Spanish, so it can be read and loved by children who speak one or both languages. Keep reading to learn more about the story and how to help children make a tooth fairy pillow of their own!
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Author's Summary
Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow / El cojín especial para El Ratón
Pérez is Ann Morris' memory of a special occasion with her young
granddaughter, Lexi. As you read it, remember all of your own memories and
traditions that accompany losing baby teeth. Different families and
different cultures have different stories and traditions. Grandma is called
to action when Lexi loses a tooth and is far from home.
🍎 Author: Ann Morris
🍎 Illustrator: Agus Prajogo
🍎 Publisher: Mascot Books
🍎 Date: December 8, 2020
🍎 Pages: 38
Realistic Fiction
Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow is a realistic fiction story
based on real characters and events. Realistic fiction is a type of fiction in which everything in the story
feels like it could be real... but it's not always. In realistic
fiction, the people, events, and places may or may not be based on real
life. In the case of Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow... this story IS based on real people and events!
I had the opportunity to talk to Ann Morris about Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow. I asked her if the events in the story were based on real-life...
and she said that they were. She based Lexi and the grandmother from
the story on the relationship she has with her own granddaughter.
Then... I asked her if her granddaughter really lost her tooth at her house
and if there really was a tooth fairy pillow... and she said yes
again! Here is what Ann Morris had to say about their experience:
When Catie (Ann Morris's granddaughter who was the inspiration for
Lexi) was so worried about not having her tooth fairy pillow, I decided
she needed one. Having sewed many kinds of things, I knew what to do. I
headed to the store. I got there, and this perfect little heart pillow
jumped into my arms and said, "Take me! Take me!" My heart melted. It was
a perfect size and would save me a lot of time. All it needed was a pocket
for the tooth, and I had plenty of fabric remnants at home for that.
Language Arts Lesson
One of the nice things about realistic fiction is that children can see themselves in similar events and behaving in similar ways as the characters in the stories they read. For example, if you are reading Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow with school-aged children, they probably have their own stories about losing their teeth and will want to share them with you. Take the time to talk about their stories... those stories are important! By taking the time to talk about your students' stories, you will reinforce the connections they make between themselves and the text. After reading and discussing Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow and your students' connections, give your students some quiet time to write and/or draw about their thoughts and feelings in their ELA journals. You can give them a specific writing prompt about the story or allow them to choose a topic of their own.
Enrichment Activity
After reading Lexi's Special Tooth Fairy Pillow, you and your students can work together to make tooth fairy pillows for them to take home. Depending on the age of your students and the size of your class you may need to modify the directions.
Materials
- two pieces of crafting felt per student
- precut squares of crafting felt to make little pockets on the pillows
- spools of thread (estimate one spool of thread for every four or five students)
- sewing needles (one per student + a few spares)
- large amounts of batting for the inside of the pillows, depending on the size of your class
- optional: stick pins to hold the fabric in place while sewing
- optional: embellishments to decorate the pillows
Directions
- Lay your first piece of felt on the table. If you are using printed felt, make sure the printed side is up.
- Place a small square of felt in the middle of the first piece of fabric. This will be the pocket for the teeth.
- Sew three sides of the pocket, leaving one side open.
- When you are done, lay this piece of fabric on the table with the pocket side up.
- Take your second piece of felt and lay it on top of the first to make a sandwich. The pocket should be inside the sandwich. If you are using printed felt, make sure the printed side is down. The prints should be facing each other inside the sandwich.
- Sew three sides of the felt sandwich. Use pins to hold the felt in place, if necessary.
- Turn the felt sandwich inside out, so the pocket is now on the outside.
- Stuff the pillow with as much or as little batting as you'd like.
- Sew the pillow shut.
- Embellish and decorate your pillow as desired.
(handstitched tooth fairy pillow with no embellishments)
Notes and Comments
- Depending on the quality of the felt you are using, it may tear easily. Encourage your students to use care while sewing.
- You can substitute quilting fabric for the crafting felt. Quilting fabric comes in a variety of prints and would look much nicer, but the stiffness of crafting felt may be easier for novice sewers to handle.
- If you are a homeschooling parent, you can help your child make a tooth fairy pillow on the sewing machine.
- Someone made the suggestion to have children glue their pillows instead of sewing them, so we gave it a try using the traditional white glue that the students keep in their desks. It was a messy experience and not really enjoyable. It felt like it was just slapping pieces together and... I guess in a way it was. It took longer to make a pillow with glue because the glue needed to dry between steps and at times the seams came undone and needed regluing. If you want to glue a pillow... use a hot glue gun... save the bottled school glue for paper tasks.
(tooth fairy pillow glued together and with no embellishments)
To learn more about Ann Morris and some of her other books, please visit
her
author page. (http://www.authorannmorris.com/)
(Next Article:
Broccoli Rob and the Garden Singers by John S. Armstong)
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