Tooth-Gnasher Superflash

About the Book

One day the Popsnorkle family goes to test drive a new car, the Tooth-gnasher Superflash. With Mrs. Popsnorkle repeatedly commenting on the car’s lovely color and the five little Popsnorkles bouncing up and down, Mr. Popsnorkle gets behind the wheel with the car salesman next to him. To the delight of the five little Popsnorkles and the shock of the salesman, every time Mr. Popsnorkle presses a button, the car turns into something amazing like as a huge flying chicken. Childlike pictures apparently created with colored markers are as exuberant as the highly appearling story.

Why this Book?

This book rocks! Let me note the problems before I wax lyrical. First, it’s out of print (an outrage) so you’d have to buy a used copy. Second, Mrs. Popsnorkle is over-the-top stereotyped (Pinkwater’s trademark is being over-the-top so I don’t take offense). Still, some adults don’t share my enthusiasm. This was my go-to book as a children’s librarian if I had a hard-to-please group of young kids. I never met a child who wasn’t mesmerized by the story. What child doesn’t want their car to turn into a galloping dinosaur? Or a giant turtle? I know I do. Very high on the list of Odean favorites.