Recently, we went to dinner at my husband’s parents. My son had just been to the orthodontist. My father in law had just had dental surgery. I had just visited the bookstore that afternoon on route to dinner and I was thrilled to see that the latest Sara Levine book I had ordered had arrived. Of course, while waiting for dinner to finish cooking, I had to read this book aloud to my family. Of course! It was a meant to be moment – a must read book about teeth while we all had teeth on the brain. Achy teeth and bruised mouths, some of us. This book was the perfect distraction.

Because don’t you just want to know answers to some questions like these:

• What would you be if your top canine teeth grew almost all the way down to your feet?
• What kind of animal would you be if your teeth were long enough to stick out of your mouth, even when it was closed?
• What kind of mammal would you be if you had really tall molars?

I am not going to tell you any of these answers! Go! Get the book! Some of these questions are challenging to figure out. This title is a fantastic resource in the elementary classroom: a fun and interactive read aloud with interesting guess and find out questions/answers. My entire family from the teenagers to the over eighty crowd was completely engaged!

Tooth by Tooth: Comparing Fangs, Tusks, and Chompers written by Sara Levine and illustrated by T.S. Spookytooth (Millbrook Press (Lerner) 2016)

Learn about the different kinds of teeth you have in your mouth: incisors, canines and molars. Quick, think fast – how many molars do you have? Now count them. Were you right? (Your answer should fall in the 8-20 range depending on your age) Find out how other mammals use their teeth and why they are different sizes and shapes. How are human teeth similar and different compared to other mammals? How do the teeth of herbivores, omnivores and carnivores differ?

Information in the final pages includes further reading, a detailed glossary and more about mammal teeth.

Ideal for K-7 students as a read aloud (for K-3) or read alone (Grades 4-7) .

I also highly recommend bringing it along to share at dinner parties. . . even if nobody has recently been to the dentist! 🙂

Levine and Spookytooth also collaborated on Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons

Thanks to Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy for the inspiration to read and share more nonfiction picture books in 2016. Follow the link to Alyson’s blog to read about more nonfiction books you need to read!