What If You Had Animal Teeth?

January 1, 2013
What if an animal's teeth grew into the space where you lost your two front teeth? Markle chews on this interesting question in this compelling combination of imagination and fact. Spread by double-page spread, she introduces animals with unusual choppers, from the beaver's iron-coated orange incisors to the camel's worn-out stubs, and explains what they're used for. Or, in the case of the narwhal's single tusk, points out that scientists don't yet know. On the left-hand side of each spread, photographs of the animals emphasize their teeth. On the right, a human child is portrayed with that animal's teeth. These film-animation-style illustrations reinforce the fantasy aspect and feature a diverse range of children. A black-haired boy in flip-flops lifts a car with his elephant tusks. A girl in a wheelchair picks up soup noodles with her flexible, naked-mole-rat front teeth. The text is presented in small chunks--a paragraph of description and a toothy fact on one page facing a paragraph about what you could do with such teeth. The reading will be a challenge for the intended audience, but the subject so compelling they won't be able to resist. A backpack-wearing boy with dark-framed glasses and dripping fangs greets a rattlesnake on the cover. Irresistible. (Informational picture book. 5-9)

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January 1, 2013
Grades 1-3 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 livesfor 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.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)