Doctor De Soto

 

Written and Illustrated by William Steig
 

Doctor De Soto is a fantasy picture book which tells the story of a mouse, Dr. De Soto who is a dentist to animals. He works closely with his wife and assistant, Mrs. De Soto who decide to take a patient who is very harmful to mice, a fox. The fox intends to eat the De Soto's but, they have something for him. They remove a tooth and glue  the fox's teeth together to save themselves. 

Doctor De Soto fits into the fantasy genre because its characters are animals that can talk and perform human tasks which could never exist in real life. The illustrations are colorful water color paintings with straight, fine lines that enhance the story. 

 

Motivational Activities 

Create a Postcard from the De Soto's. Think about where mice would travel.

1. Use construction paper cut into 5x8 squares
2. Decorate the postcards with pictures of the De Soto's enjoying a vacation. Include phrases that you think the characters would say. Also include who these postcards would be sent to (pigs, cows, rats, ect.)

Compare and Contrast Mr. De Soto and the fox

1. Create a poster board divided in half with one character on each side.
2. Divide the poster board further into four sections with the upper half comparing the characters and the lower half contrasting the characters. 
3. Allow each student to contribute to each character and section

Reader Response Questions

1. What character would you like to be in this book? Why?
2. Are there many differences between the main characters in the book? 
3. Why did Dr. De Soto decide not to accept All patients? Who did theses patients include? 

Doctor De Soto is sure to bring a smile to any child's face with the delightful way in which the De Soto's care for the fox's tooth pain and outsmart him at the same time. Children will definitely want to re-read over and over again!

References

 Steig, W. (2010). Doctor De Soto. New York: Square Fish.