Product Description

"Doctor De Soto, the dentist, did very good work." With the aid of his able assistant, Mrs. De Soto, he copes with the toothaches of animals large and small. His expertise is so great that his fortunate patients never feel any pain.

Since he's a mouse, Doctor De Soto refuses to treat "dangerous" animals--that is, animals who have a taste for mice. But one day a fox shows up and begs for relief from the tooth that's killing him. How can the kindhearted De Sotos turn him away? But how can they make sure that the fox doesn't give in to his baser instincts once his tooth is fixed? Those clever De Sotos will find a way.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #373326 in Books
• Published on: 1986-08
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback

Amazon.com Review
Doctor De Soto is a well-respected mouse-dentist who runs a successful practice with his wife (and able assistant) Mrs. De Soto. The De Sotos are friendly and professional toward all their patients, from chipmunks to donkeys to cows, the exception being "cats and other dangerous animals," as stated clearly on the sign outside the office. But the De Sotos are tender-hearted rodents, so when a miserable fox shows up begging for treatment, they agree to have a look (perhaps against their better judgment). As it turns out, this fox, with "a rotten bicuspid and unusually bad breath," manages to behave himself while tiny Doctor De Soto is standing mid-molar inside his gaping jaws. When the wily fox returns the next day to get his replacement gold tooth, however, he has mouse-flavored snacks on his mind. Luckily, Doctor De Soto and his wife have anticipated such despicable canine intentions, and find a way to outfox the ungrateful fox.

William Steig, award-winning creator of Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, once again offers young readers a clever, amusing tale of interspecies mingling. As usual, Steig's tone is matter-of-fact, and his enchanting illustrations of the responsible mouse couple and their foxy adversary are alive with expression and emotion. Kids will appreciate the De Sotos' wit, and will be delighted to read more about this diminutive couple's adventures in Doctor De Soto Goes to Africa. (Ages 4 to 8)

From Publishers Weekly
A somewhat unusual--and ravenous--patient is outfoxed by the resourceful mouse-dentist in this sly tale of mischief. Ages 3-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-Spanish version of tale by William Steig.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

This is possibly my favorite children's book --
I've given it as a present several times.

William Steig's books are very funny both to adults and children, which is an amazing accomplishment if you think about it.

The story involves a mouse dentist, Dr. DeSoto, who has a fox present himself for dental work. Normally Dr. DeSoto doesn't work on carnivorous patients, but he feels sorry for the fox, who has a toothache. Even while Dr. DeSoto is fixing the fox's tooth, however, the fox is thinking about what a tasty treat his dentist will be.

The humor lies in William Steig's use of language -- he is well known for not talking down to children, but slipping in some wonderful "big words" that children love to hear and that increase their vocabularies painlessly.

I can't imagine anyone not finding this book entertaining. William Steig will be greatly missed.

great for older children, maybe not for younger kids
This book is a modern classic! The author is an excellent children's book writer. Older children really enjoy this!

Younger children can become scared of the dentist after this book. Save it for the older ones.

A wonderfully detailed story
William Stieg always has such gorgeous prose and such detailed pictures. My son loves seeing exactly how Dr. DeSoto pulls out the fox's tooth with a winch, how their are two sets of stairs for the big animals and little animals etc. The pictures of the little mouse working with his dental tools inside a cow's mouth, the fox's mouth are so funny and interesting it just draws you in. The story is very engaging, funny, creative and teaches a lesson to boot! This is one of our favorite books.