When Albert complains of a toothache, no one believes him. After all, turtles don’t have teeth.
His mother tries to distract him with food, games and photo albums, but Albert insists his toothache bothers him too much. His sister thinks Albert’s avoiding a bully, his brother thinks Albert doesn’t want gray spider legs for dinner and his dad thinks Albert is plain lying.
When Albert’s grandmother comes to visit, she alone understands the problem: ” ‘The trouble with all of you is that you never believe him,” said Albert’s grandmother.’
Albert’s Toothache by Barbara Williams (another classic published in 1974) shows the power of believing loved ones even if you don’t understand them. Asking the right questions helps too.
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