Baby Tooth Blues: Bear's Loose Tooth by Karma Wilson

FROM A CAVE IN THE FOREST
CAME A MUNCH, MUNCH, CRUNCH.
BEAR AND HIS FRIENDS
ALL NIBBLE ON THEIR LUNCH.

BEAR SAVORED EACH BITE.
HE GULPED AND HE GOBBLED.
THEN THERE--IN HIS MOUTH--
SOMETHING WIGGLED AND WOBBLED.

IT WAS...BEAR'S LOOSE TOOTH!

It's that early childhood rite of passage--the first loose tooth. Bear is taken aback. Nothing in his mouth has ever changed before. What does this mean? How will he eat?

The usual suspects, Bear's forest friends, fill him in on the whole mammalian dentition thing. Even little mouse has been through it, and he assures Bear that when the loose tooth comes out, a brand new grown-up tooth will slowly appear to fill its place.

Bear is reassured at last. But what to do about this wiggly, wobbly old tooth still in his mouth? As usual, Bear's buddies are all too eager to offer help with that. The gang gathers round while Bear stretches out and opens wide, and everyone peers at the affected tooth, Owl perching right on Bear's big nose to get a better view. Little Wren steps up to the job of dental assistant du jour:

WREN PERCHED ON BEAR'S LIP
AND HE GOT A GOOD GRIP.
ON BEAR'S LOOSE TOOTH.

Wren's tiny beak is a precision tool, all right, but his tiny tugs lack the essential torque to uproot the loose tooth. Undeterred, though, Bear's bigger friends give it a try: Owl, Badger, and then Hare pull and twist and yank, but the tooth resists all their efforts.

Bear himself finally gives a mighty push with his tongue and the loose tooth at last breaks free! The group whoops it up in celebration, and that night Bear has a surprise visit from the Tooth Fairy, who leaves an appropriate bear-y toothsome treat, a big bowl of blueberries.

And when the gang gathers for their usual brunch, Bear shares his prize with them all. And then Bear gets another surprise.

BEAR GULPED AND HE GOBBLED,
AND HE FELT SOMETHING WOBBLE...

BEAR'S LOOSE TOOTH!

Author Karma Wilson's and artist Jane Chapman's latest in their best-selling Bear Snores on series, Bear's Loose Tooth (Margaret K. Elderry Books, 2011) follows the familiar format, with verse bright with internal and ending rhymes and soft acrylic illustrations of young woodland animals reinforcing the theme of mastering the small milestones of early childhood with the help of supportive friends. Their first new entry since the 2008 hit, Bear Stays Up for Christmas, this latest will pair well with Lucy Bate's and Diane deGroat's charming classic tooth tale,Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth, to ease the transition from baby tooth to new tooth for youngsters facing their first big change.