Doctor De Soto

In a story that is strongly reminiscent of the Aesopic fable concerning the wolf and the crane, murine dentist Dr. De Soto agrees to go against his standing policy, which states that he will not treat dangerous animals (like cats!), and accept a fox as a patient. Correctly interpreting his vulpine patient's desire to eat him, and his assistant (his wife, Mrs. De Soto), the good dentist is torn between his duty as a medical practitioner and his desire to remain in one piece. Fortunately, creative thinking, and a little cunning, allow the mice to outfox the fox, and escape unscathed.

Atypically, Dr. De Soto was chosen as a Newbery Honor Book in 1983 - "atypically" because the Newbery is a writer's award, and is usually given to longer show more works, rather than to picture-books - but although I found the story engaging, and appreciated the interactions of text and image, I can't say that I thought this was a particularly award-worthy title. Still, I did enjoy it, and was charmed by Dr. and Mrs. De Soto, and their sangfroid in the face of danger. Seeing the "little guys" triumph is always fun, especially when the narrative and artwork are so full of humor. show less

Steig explores class distinction through the metaphor of anthropomorphized animals, and specifically through a dentist mouse. Since Dr. De Soto is so small he can easily work on larger animals' teeth, but there are certain perils due to his mousey nature. Dr. De Soto has to ban cats and other natural predators from his practice because the temptation of him working near their teeth is just too much. But when a fox with a toothache begs for help Dr De Soto can't help but take pity on him. Thankfully he has some tricks up his sleeve, so the fox goes home with an empty stomach along with his fixed tooth. Steig's careful plotting and clever dialogue make this book a classic for readers of any age.

Retelling: Dr. De Soto was an excellent dentist who compensated for the fact that he was a mouse using his exceptional ingenuity and problem solving skills. When a fox came to his door, hungry and hurting, Dr. De Soto and his wife were faced with a new problem: How to help the fox without being eaten.

Thoughts and Feelings: I admire Dr. De Soto for helping a patient he knew might harm him, but also for taking extra, thoughtful precautions given the his special circumstances. This book reminds me of the Hippocratic oath and the ethical practice of medicine, only with "animals" replacing all "human beings."

My first and only foray into plagiarism was carried out when I ripped this plot off COMPLETELY (instead of a mouse I used a squirrel) at the age of 8ish and won a story contest that took me to a young writer's conference at the University of Iowa. Though I really didn't know any better, I am now ashamed, and would like to relinquish my award if I still had it or knew to whom or where to send it. I gave this five stars, because it's the only book that ever got me anything cool.

Another creepy Steig book. If foxes and mice both wear clothes and talk and live in the same civilized society, then if the fox is contemplating eating the mouse, that is cannibalism in my mind. Either way, a fun read.

A hoot. A bit simple/simplistic, but still some of Steig's vocabulary, and some of his subtle humor and insights. For example, the fox wonders if it would be "shabby" to eat the mice. And the wife is willing to give the fox the benefit of the doubt... Steig always does think of women as the more tender sex.

I thought this book was incredibly smart and funny. It's about Dr. Desoto, a mouse dentist, and his wife, his assistant. They treat a variety of animals and he's a well known dentist, however, they refuse to treat dangerous animals. One day, a fox comes in with a terrible toothache and they debate about whether or not to treat him. They decide to let him in and they extract his tooth but see that he is tempted to eat them. He needs to come back the next day to get his new tooth and they formulate a plan. After the fox has his work done, they offer him a new treatment that will prevent toothaches forever. He agrees and they paint his teeth with glue so he can't open his mouth for a day or two. They outfox the fox. It's a really cute book show more and the illustrations are great. I love how William Steig uses animals as characters and he is abl eto give them so much personality. show less