  | What if you had animal teeth? (What If You Had...?) Author: Markle, Sandra | |
| Price: $14.79 | ||
Summary:
Takes children on a fun, informative, and imaginative journey as they explore what it would be like if their own front teeth were replaced by those of a different animal.
| Illustrator: | McWilliam, Howard |
| Accelerated Reader Information: Interest Level: LG Reading Level: 4.90 Points: .5 Quiz: 157322 | Reading Counts Information: Interest Level: K-2 Reading Level: 5.60 Points: 2.0 Quiz: 60018 | |
Reviews:
Booklist (01/01/13)
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (00/02/13)
Full Text Reviews:
Bulletin for the Center... - 02/01/2013 “So you’ve lost your front teeth,” says the book in its opening page. “What if an animal’s teeth grew in, instead?” That’s the premise of this delightfully creepy and genuinely informative text on dentition and early biology, which goes on to offer ten different dentally notable animals as models for a kid’s new smile. Each spread includes a toothy close-up photo of the animal in question (great white shark, rattlesnake, crocodile) along with a quick overview of their particular dental advantages and an additional fun fact; facing that page is a gloriously lurid, cartoonish image of a kid with that animal’s teeth, accompanied by a small caption breezily explaining the benefits. It’s a hilarious and instructive combination that makes it clear just how variable and individually suited this aspect of anatomy is, and the art takes the concept and runs—well, chomps—with it. Egregiously toothy kids loom dauntingly into view, sometimes in fish-eye focus, ready to use their new choppers to best effect: the rattlesnake-fanged poindexter calmly routs advancing bullies, the elephant-tusked little guy uses them to hold up the family car as his dad changes a tire; a girl neatly slices bat-decorated wrapping paper with her pointy vampire-bat teeth. With their mischievous insouciance, the saturated pigments and comically exaggerated portraiture recall Dan Santat (Buckley’s Kel Gilligan’s Daredevil Stunt Show, BCCB 10/12); while in one instance the more over-the-top elements wander uncomfortably close to stereotype, the cast is notably diverse and generally enjoyably exaggerated. Tired of cutesy tooth fairy books? Here’s a dental book with some real bite. DS - Copyright 2013 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois.
Booklist - 01/01/2013 Losing a first tooth is a memorable milestone in the life of a young person. Markle uses this universal experience to pose a relevant, though slightly unsettling, scientific inquiry: “But what if an animal’s teeth grew in, instead?” In a fashion germane to her audience, she presents interesting animal trivia via examples and common happenings in their own lives—for example, if you had naked mole rat teeth, you could operate them separately like chopsticks. McWilliam’s huge-jawed illustrations, such as a young Inuit fishing with a narwhal tusk or a frustrated student mowing through his math book with a beaver’s orange-colored incisors, are somehow both hilarious and terrifying. Meanwhile, photos of open-mouthed animals accompany the text. Though perhaps not the best choice for the nightmare-prone, this will surely satisfy animal enthusiasts and trivia lovers, and dentists and parents will appreciate the mention of ways to keep human chompers healthy. - Copyright 2013 Booklist.
