School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Mrs. Watson, the first-grade teacher, is a 300-year-old alien with a purple tongue who steals baby teeth from her students. How does this new student know? A second grader enlightened her on the bus ride to her first day of school. Now she lives in terror because she has a loose tooth. Can she keep her mouth closed for the rest of the school year? This delightful book by Alison McGhee (Harcourt, 2004) is sure to have students giggling. Rachael Lillis reads the text (and pretty much every written word in the illustrations) with gusto and humor, creating a different voice for each character. Sound effects and background music enhance the text, as readers enjoy the humorous details of Harry Bliss's watercolor-and-ink illustrations. While some might have a little trouble with the concept of giving children candy as a reward for losing a tooth, this book is a sure-fire hit.-Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Having tackled shoelace-tying and new-school jitters, the heroine from Countdown to Kindergarten (and Puddy, her cat) is back to start first grade-with a loose tooth. There's just one problem: a second-grader warns her that the first-grade teacher, Mrs. Watson, is a "three-hundred-year-old alien who steals baby teeth from her students." Once again making comical use of spot illustrations and thought balloons intermingled with the main narrative, Bliss conveys palpable fear on the heroine's face, as she looks for her teacher's telltale purple tongue, and shuns the treat box where the woman purportedly "keeps all those baby teeth." Fans will note McGhee's sly references to the first book ("Counting backwards from ten is my specialty! But wait. Keep... mouth... closed," reads the heroine's thought balloon when the teacher asks if anyone knows how), while Bliss fills the book with enough details for parents and kids to pore over (the Drama Club poster announces a production of Marathon Man, "a chilling tale of suspense and toothaches," a Book Fair poster advertises Harry Plotter and the Huge Cavity by J.K. Salinger"). A reassuring, humorous ending when the heroine's tooth finally does pop out in Mrs. Watson's classroom reminds readers that they must rely on their own experiences-not the say-so of others. Ages 4-7. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A second grader warns an already anxious loose-toothed first grader that teacher Mrs. Watson is actually an alien tooth-stealer. (""She might look human, but don+t be fooled."") Transitioning kindergartners will identify with the main character's fears, and audiences will enjoy finding the witty details in the cartoonlike illustrations, which convey both humor and comfort to the reader. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A second-grader puts the willies into a first-day first-grader in this very fun mock thriller. "She might look human, but don't be fooled. She has a purple tongue. She craves earthling baby teeth." And, of course, our narrator, the self-same first-day first-grader, has got a loose tooth. Well, she isn't going to open her mouth on any account. Except she does and out pops the tooth; likewise, out pops a really nice first-grade teacher. McGhee keeps the dialogue crisp, bringing out the sweet gullibility of the first-grader and the second-grader's mischief-making. Bliss's artwork gives the story additional buzz, like a shot of espresso, in both the immediate interpretation and in a brilliant company of sly marginalia, hitting toothy notes that sit comfortably between Charles Schulz and Charles Addams. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.