Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy? is a children's book by Jason Alexander.
It is about a little boy named Gabi who has lost a tooth. In his family, whenever he lost a tooth in the past, he would get a note that claims to be from the Tooth Fairy, whose name, apparently, is Gwyneth.
However, recently, he has been having doubts about whether Gwyneth really exists because he used to believe that fairy tales (like Goldilocks, etc) were real too, but his friends claim otherwise. One of his friends then outright says that the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy aren't real either, but that it's the parents doing it. So Gabi asks his father if Gwyneth really exists or if it's him doing it.
The father tells him that centuries ago, there used to be fairies, as well as other supernatural creatures such as elves and unicorns, but that they had to leave "because of technology". However, Gabi's dad also claims that when the fairies left, they told all the parents to take their kids' lost teeth, then sit down and basically meditate and they'll hear a voice telling them what to write, which leaves the question of if it's really the fairy sending Gabi's dad psychic messages, or if it's just his imagination, but Gabi chooses to believe it's the fairy.
Dad, Are You the Tooth Fairy? provides examples of
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: Gabi's mother is never mentioned.
- Author Avatar: Downplayed. Gabi is based on the author's own son Gabriel and the author has the same tradition, but the dad in the book doesn't look like the author.
- Batman Can Breathe in Space: Apparently, all the magical creatures can breathe in space because Gabi's dad cites the stars or the moon as possible places they went to.
- But Now I Must Go: It's never really explained why technology required that the magical creatures leave.
- Clap Your Hands If You Believe: Apparently, fairies now need belief to exist, or at least to keep being able to talk to kids.
- Easter Bunny: Briefly mentioned when one of Gabi's friends says that the Easter Bunny isn't real either.
- Here There Were Dragons: According to Gabi's dad, there used to be magical creatures (apparently fairies, minotaurs, elves, mermaids, trolls, and actual dragons) in the past, but they had to go away "because of technology".
- Loose Tooth Episode: Gabi loses his tooth, but he's heard that parents are the ones who put money under pillows instead of the tooth fairy, so he asks his father if this is true. His father says that fairies used to be around until technology forced them to leave, but they give parents psychic messages telling them to leave notes for kids. It's never revealed if this is true or not, but Gabi decides to believe it.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Even though Gabi chooses to believe that the Tooth Fairy really exists, it's unknown if she does or if it's just Gabi's father's imagination.
- Science Versus Magic: Apparently, all the magical creatures had to go "because of technology".
- Telepathy: Apparently, parents need to sit quietly and they will hear the fairy's voice in their head telling them what to do and say.
- Tooth Fairy: Zigzagged. It's left ambiguous as to whether tooth fairies really existed or if it's just Gabi's father's imagination.
- Unicorn: Briefly mentioned when Gabi's dad claims that unicorns were among the magical species that used to exist.
- Unnamed Parent: Despite being a rather prominent character, Gabi's dad is never named.
- Where the Magic Went: Gabi's father claims that all manner of magical beings (the Tooth Fairy, dragons, etc.) used to live on Earth, but had to leave because of technology (however, he could be making that up). He suggests that the magical entities may have relocated to the moon or the stars.
